For Every Cooper
by Ramona Bandicoot
Summary: One would think that traveling though time would be the greatest experience. But, that experience is ruined when a curse causes things to become a race before the clock. Sly and the gang have to solve the riddle and lift the curse before someone is erased from history and disappears forever.
1. Chapter 1: Research

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_I finally had another story idea! I do want to thank 'ForeverFreelancer' for helping me with parts of this story, so thanks! But other than that, please read and review and let me know what you think. Thanks!_

For Every Cooper

Chapter 1: Research

I slowly scanned the afternoon skyline, looking for a particular apartment window. I'd been looking for Ramona all day and her apartment was the last place she could possibly be. She'd been out of sight for the past few days and I wanted to make sure she was still in the city. There was never any telling when she'd get up and leave the city for a few days and she'd never let people know when she would. Ramona was never one to stay in one place for too long and would constantly go places every few weeks. Hopefully she was in her apartment; I had something important to tell her. I finally found her home and zoomed in to see if I could see her inside. She had her curtains open and I could see her small living room. I was ready to call it quits and go home when I noticed her slowly stroll to her couch, her nose buried in a book. I smiled briefly and shoved my binoccucom back into my leg pouch before leaping from my perch and clung onto the drainpipe next to her complex. I climbed silently, trying to keep from being noticed. I preferred to go walking around the city at night; there was a lessened chance to be caught by the police than waltzing around in the middle of the day. But, given the current circumstances, going in the day would just be easier.

I latched onto her balcony and hoisted myself up before peering inside her home. She had seated herself on the couch and still had her mind completely focused on her book. It didn't look like a novel but more like a history book. She would look at the book in her lap, then to one on the cushion next to her, and finally scribble something on a notepad. She'd shoved her pencil inside her sloppily prepared bun and look back to the book in her lap. She was studying something but what I was, was still a mystery. I silently slid the doors open but still, she seemed unfazed. I stepped inside quietly, shutting the door behind me, and walked silently on her carpeted floor. She was zoned out and focused on her studies, completely unaware of my presence. I stepped behind the couch, and rested my paws on the back of the couch, looking over the pages in her book. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, a strange topic for a woman like her, but then again, there was never any telling on what she was going to do next.

"Now what is a pretty lady like yourself doing with a book on hieroglyphs?" she shrieked and jumped at my voice, turning around, ready to hit me with her book. I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction and lean against the back of the couch.

"Sorry," I said through laughter, "Didn't mean to scare ya." She rolled her eyes with a chuckle and rested against her couch before looking back at her book.

"The only thing that scare me about you Cooper are your manners." I gave her a look of false hurt and jumped over the back of the furniture. I landed with a flop on the cushions next to Ramona and scoffed at her comment.

"My manners? I'll have you know that I have excellent manners, Mademoiselle." She placed a marker in her book and shut it before raising her eyebrow in my direction.

"So you consider sneaking into my home well mannered?" I flashed her a smile and stretched my arm out on the back of the couch, not on her shoulders, but directly behind them.

"I was checking up on your welfare," I nudged her shoulder with my knuckles, "You've been out of sight for the past few days, I've been worried. So, I consider my entrance quite mannerly."

"Well mannered or not," she smiled, "I'm fine." She opened her book again and her eyes scanned the page.

"That's all I wanted to know," I nudged her again and she raised a suspicious eyebrow in my direction, "Now, what is it that has kept the ever adventurous Ramona Bandicoot in her home for the past few days?"

"I've been studying, if you must know," I barked a laugh and rested my feet on her coffee table, "Since when do you study? You know, scratch that, what are you studying?" Ramona was never one to get a feel for what she was going into when it came to a job, so what was she up to?

"That," she said after shutting her book again, "is none of your business." I reached over, grabbing the book from her grasp, and held it away from her.

"Hieroglyphs of the Ancient World," I said aloud as I read the book title, "Now what do you want with a book on hieroglyphs? Hieroglyphs, studying for days on end, you're actually taking notes, and from the looks of your kitchen table," I glanced to her kitchen and noticed numerous book pertaining to different areas all over the world, "you're trying to study up on your next location. What are you up to, Ramona?" she reached over me in an attempt to get her book back but I kept it from her reach.

"Give me the book, Cooper," I shook my head with a laugh and moved the book further from her, "Give me the book."

"Tell me what you're planning first. If you're planning on what I think you're planning on doing I might be able to help you." After noticing the other books on her table I was starting to get an idea on what she was up to. Which would explain the various books on different countries and her taking notes all of a sudden.

"You have no idea what I'm planning," she reached over me, trying to grab the book again, but I wouldn't let her have it, "Now give me my book!" she was trying to be serious but the smile on the face gave her away.

"I know exactly what you're doing, my dear. You're studying up on your family tree. That would explain all the books and your sudden urge to study." She snatched her book from my paws and settled back down one the couch.

"Fine, now how do you plan on helping me? What are you going to do, be my study buddy?" she nudged my chest and I laughed.

"As much fun as that sounds, I have a better idea. Follow me." I stood and tried to pull her with me but she stayed put.

"Where?" she asked simply. She tapped her fingers on the over of her book and looked up to meet my gaze.

"Just follow me." I motioned for her to follow me but she stayed seated. I grabbed her wrists gently and yanked her from her couch, "Just trust me." she was still skeptical, but eventually she followed me out of her apartment and to my hideout.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Again," Ramona said after I had led her into the garage of the hideout, "how are you helping me?" I stood behind her and pointed to out team van.

"With that machine right over there," Bentley had modified our van to make some pretty nice adjustments and it would be just the thing both of us needed to investigate our family history.

"Your team van? How does your team van help me study?" I gave her another smile and continued.

"Not just a van, Mademoiselle. It's what's on top of the van that's important." I pointed to the can again and she looked in the same direction.

"Oh! I see it now!" I could already tell she was being sarcastic in her response, "You put a Flava Flav clock on the top and that'll help me with my problems!" she slapped my chest and flattened her ears against her head.

"I'll tell you, Ramona…that sarcasm of yours never gets old," she chuckled softly, "But that is no clock, that, my dear, is a time machine." She barked a rather loud laugh and shook her head.

"You've lost your mind, Cooper, that is a van with a clock. Besides, time machines are completely impossible to make. Not to mention the ethical side to all of this, even if this did work, who's to say that by simply being in the past wouldn't screw us all over in the end. The past is the past for a reason, Sly."

"Don't worry, Bentley has this all figured out. We're all perfectly fine if we go back, or even forward for that matter." She shook her head and faced me.

"What's this 'we' stuff? I'm not getting in that thing. If you want to sit in your van and pretend to go sailing through time, you go right ahead. I, on the other hand, am going home to do research."

"Now what happened to the daring Ramona I knew? Now wouldn't it be easier to just go back in time and meet your family instead of reading what could be false information? Why not get it straight from the source?"

"I'll tell you why," she folder her arms across her chest, "because you have so many things hooked up to that clunky tin tube, I really don't feel like being electrocuted today, Sly. Besides, it won't work so it's simply a waste of time."

"Well if it's a waste of time then get in. We'll fire it up and if it's a flunk, you win. But if it works, I win." I knew Ramona wouldn't back down from a challenge and this would work. I had faith in Bentley's building skills.

"Alright," she said eventually, "I'll play along with your cracked little game. Then tell me 'father time', where are we going?" she was positive this wasn't going to work and I couldn't help but let a large smile spread across my face.

"Where ever and whenever the pretty lady wants." She thought for a moment before placing her paws on her hips.

"Thebes," she said simply, "Thirteen hundred B.C." I let out another smile and motioned towards the van with my paw.

"After you, Mademoiselle." She rolled her eyes and walked towards the van. She was sure this wasn't going to work, but I knew it would.


	2. Chapter 2: Tomb Time

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well here's chapter 2! Sorry for the update delay but his was a long chapter! I was originally going to do each chapter and ancestor…but that'd be like 5,000 words a chapter and it'd be easier on me just to split it into two chapters. Anyway…please read and review and let me know what you think! _

Chapter 2: Tomb Time

Thebes, Egypt 1300 B.C.

"I hate you so much right now." Ramona muttered as I found myself laughing. She hadn't believed that the van could actually be a time machine, but she was completely wrong. It had worked perfectly, just like Bentley had said, and considering Ramona never liked to be wrong, she wasn't too happy about it.

"I told you, Ramona, it would work." I nudged her gently and the growled with a flick of her tail. I really didn't know how to explain the more technical terms of Bentley's invention, I was never mechanically savvy, but I knew I could rub it in Ramona's face. Bentley had simply punched in the date and location, pressed enter, and we simply waited for the van to finish its travels though time. Ramona glared at me thorough the corner of her eye, obviously flustered about the situation.

"Alright," the grumbled, "it worked. So, what do we do now? We don't necessarily blend in with the locals." She had a valid point. People of this time period typically didn't dress in jeans, tennis shoes, and t-shirts.

"Well," I said as I thought about what we could do. We hadn't really thought this far ahead. Bentley, Murray, and I had already planned to go time traveling and I figure if I could bring along a little competition, things would be a little more fun. So, we would have to find a way to blend in and then figure out how to get into contact with our ancestors.

"We're about a quarter of a mile outside of the nearest bazaar, if we can get down there, steal a few disguises and a few camels, we'll be in pretty good shape. We can get into the city without stick out and take it from there. How does that sound, Bentley?" Bentley, who was still seated in the back of the van, looked up from his computer and nodded.

"It sounds pretty sturdy. But leave me here, Sly. I'm afraid my wheelchair won't turn in this sand and someone needs to keep on eye on the computers here incase something goes wrong. I'll also need Murray for the same reason. Incase something goes wrong I'll need someone to drive the van incase we need to split." I nodded and turned to Ramona who nodded in agreement as well. I was glad to see that she was up for an adventure. Bentley handed he an earpiece for her to slip on. Since she'd be with us for a little while, he'd need to keep in contact with her as well as me. Ramona slipped the earpiece in her ear and rested her shoulder against the edge of the van.

"Incase we do need to make a quick exit, we'll come find you two and get out of here as soon as possible. But do keep in touch, Sly. If something happens to either of you two there's no telling what it could do to the timeline. And don't do anything that could alter the timeline either! IF you do the outcome could be horrible! You might not even be born if you do something!"

"Don't worry, Bentley, I think we'll be alright." And with that, Ramona and I left the van and quickly ventured to the nearest bazaar to find clothes and two camels.

"Who's getting what?" Ramona asked as we trotted through the sand. It was hot out here and it took all my energy to trek through the heat. So the sooner we got on camels, the easier things would be.

"Well, I can handle the camels and I'll let you get the disguises, you're better at dressing than I am." She chuckled and scanned the surrounding area. The expression on her face told me that something was sitting on her mind and since it would be a good bit until we got to the market place, I decided I'd try to figure out what it was.

"You've got something on your mind?" she glanced in my direction and shrugged.

"Not something on my mind, but you know that feeling you have when you know something's off?" I nodded, "I've got that feeling. I'm sure it's nothing, but it's there."

"I don't know…you're usually pretty good at telling when something's off. Have you had it for a while?"

"A few days, I guess. I'm sure it's nothing serious." She shrugged it off as we finally reached the small market place. She branched off to one side to find us a disguise while I went the other way to find two camels. If we could make it to the city then we'd have a higher change of finding out about our ancestors.

I stuck to the shadows of the market place as I searched for two healthy camels to 'appropriate'. I would have to do this carefully; one wrong move and I'd have an unhappy camel making as much noise as possible. And if that happened, I'd get caught and I had no idea what the punishment was for stealing, but it couldn't be good. I finally spotted a small group of unattended camels towards the back of the bazaar and figure that'd be the vest place to strike. I quickly untied two ropes and let the camels wander off a little before rounding them up and pulling them forward. Thankfully, they didn't make too of an uproar and stayed quiet. I searched for Ramona, trying to figure out where she had wandered off to. I started moving towards the front of the market, looking for the thief. I eventually spotted here a little ways away from the market. She tossed me an outfit to change into while she clutched hers in her arm. She held the camels in place while changed in a nearby tent and I did the same for her while she changed. I had to admit, I wasn't too keen on the outfit, sandals, a baggy shirt, a head scarf…and a skirt. But, if kept me from getting caught I guess I could deal with it. The good thing about this was that no one would recognize me…considering I don't 'technically' exist yet.

"You ready?" Ramona's voice came from behind me. I turned to face her and smiled, handing her one of the camels. Her disguise was rather simple, a long light dress that reached the sand. She had let her hair down so she wouldn't stick out.

"Let's go, I don't want someone to see us with these." I pointed to the camels and we climbed aboard. The two animals stood and started walking through the sand towards the city. We rode the camels in silence, trying to keep the heat from beating against our fur. That was the downside of having fur in the middle of the desert…it was hot.

"So," I said in an attempt to start a conversation, "what do you know about your ancestor here?" she turned to me as we slowly made it to the city.

"Nefertiti? Not too much, really, someone interrupted my study session," she slapped me across the arm and I chuckled, "but she was the daughter of the pharaoh, but of course, she was a thief."

"Of course!" I laughed, "Why have a boring princess when you could have one who steals?" she rolled her eyes and kept talking.

"Well, I don't think her father found out she was a thief, but she was rather defiant according to what I've found out. She was supposed to marry a prince so that after the father died, she would become queen and her husband would be the Pharaoh, but she refused. Of course they eventually were married, but it was complicated."

"A stubborn thief...why does that sound familiar?" I winked and nudged her arm with my elbow before she hit me back with a closed fist.

"Anyway," she muttered, "Before she was married, she was determined to defy her father about marrying against her will, so she found herself a lover."

"Scandalous," She rolled her eyes again, "Do they know who it was?" she nodded and shifted on her camel.

"Yeah, I was trying to figure out who it was but _somebody_ decided to steal my book," she shot me a sideways glace, "I could recognize the symbol if I saw it again but I don't know what the name is but I know it was a member of the royal staff, probably someone who set up traps in the tombs or a bodyguard for either the Pharaoh or his daughter."

"Knowing our luck it was probably my ancestor." She snorted a laugh and nodded.

"Well it wouldn't surprise me," my eyebrows knitted together and I tried to figure out what she meant, "You're not the first Cooper to come in contact with a Bandicoot, you know?"

"How so?" I asked as we kept trotting forward slowly. Camels weren't the fastest moving animals in the world and I could see the city a good ways away. Although I had no idea what we would do after we got inside the city limits, but we'd figure something out.

"Your dad knew my aunt, your dad worked with my dad on a few occasions, things like that."

"Really? I don't remember my dad saying anything about working with your aunt. Or dad now that I think about it." She nodded and her camel started picking up speed.

"I doubt that he would have. Think about it, our families have been competing with each other for centuries and you really think that anyone from our families are going to admit when they've had help from each other? It's a matter of pride, Sly." She winked and clicked with her teeth so her camel would start running. I did the same and started galloping up behind her. We were approaching the city quickly and we had to figure out where to go from here.

"So, you have a plan yet?" Ramona shouted over the sounds of the camels huffing as they ran.

"Well, if we can get inside the city and find Slytankhmen III, then we'll have a better chance of finding yours. Apparently when he wasn't stealing from the Pharaoh, he was setting traps in the local tombs so grave robbers wouldn't vandalize the tombs…or have a hard time doing so." The camels eventually slowed to a trot and we wouldn't have to shot over their footsteps.

"Where do you think we'll find him?" I shrugged and the camels eventually stopped and we dismounted.

"Just search through the city I guess." We started into the city, looking at the people that walked past us.

"And what do you plan on telling him after you find him?" I shrugged again as we walked, "Because I think that clichéd line from the movies isn't going to work. 'I'm you family from the future!'." I chuckled and nodded with her.

"I wasn't planning on it but thanks for the advice. But nothing too major…just say I'm a Cooper and hope for the best." She nodded and we stayed in silence, looking over the city's monuments and various people. There were armored guards surrounding a pathway but other than that, there wasn't anything too strange about the city. I didn't have a clue where to find Slytankhmen III, but if we could find him we might have a chance to get inside the palace.

"Is this guy going to look like you?" Ramona's voice broke through our silence and I snapped back into reality.

"I guess so. From hieroglyphs I've seen we're pretty similar." She nodded and pointed ahead of us.

"So…is that him?" she was pointing to a male raccoon, probably thirty feet away, and from what I'd seen in hieroglyphs, it was Slytankhmen III. He had the two small canes and the headdress was what was always depicted. He had his back against a wall and it appeared as if he was hiding from someone. Ramona and I backed against the wall behind us and stuck to the shadows, hiding from whatever he was hiding from. I noticed my possible ancestor simply fade away; the invisibility technique that Slytankhmen III was known for. This was definitely my ancestor. I turned to Ramona and nodded, signaling to her that this was the right guy and the possible ticket to inside the palace to find out about Ramona's family. We kept our backs firmly pressed against the wall and in the shadows. We had ended up wandering off into the more quiet area of the city, usually where the crime happened. I kept my cane at my side incase I had to use it against a guard or two if we were caught.

By the time I had turned away from Ramona to see who was still on the other side of the wall, Slytankhmen III was making his way around the corner of the wall. He stopped when he noticed us, probably thinking we were some sort of palace guards, and pulled out his two handheld canes for protection. I held up my paw to show him to stay calm and simply held up my cane. His defenses lowered and he replaced his canes back within his belt.

"Cooper?" he asked simply. I nodded and he relaxed. I figured I'd explain everything later, but for now, I was happy not being attacked or arrested. He briefly glanced to Ramona before lowering his head and stooping to one knee. Her eyebrows came together and she shrugged. Then it occurred to me that she must look like her ancestor, the Pharaoh's daughter, and it had to have been a custom to kneel before royalty…or something to that effect. Ramona must have caught on to what I was thinking when she nudged me and motioned to Slytankhmen III, wanting him to stand.

"I'm not the Pharaoh's daughter, get him to stand." He stood before I did anything, apparently he understood.

"Forgive me," he spoke to Ramona, "I mistook you for the princess. You must be related to her, am I correct?" Ramona nodded.

"I'm a Bandicoot, yes." He nodded and motioned us forward, away from the shadows, and towards the streets.

"What brings you to Egypt?" And with that, I started explaining things to Slytankhmen III. Not necessarily the more technical terms of the time machine, but more along the side of family heritage. If things worked out right, he could pull some strings and get us inside the palace and give Ramona a chance to speak with her Egyptian ancestor. We had finally made it to the main streets, close to where the armed guards were located. The sounds of whips, horses, and a chariot could he heard coming down the road.

"Kneel," Slytankhmen muttered as he knelt himself, "Kneel!" his whisper was harsh, but we knelt anyway and bowed our heads like he did. Our heads stayed down as a chariot zoomed past us. I noticed Slytankhmen glance up as the chariot went by and once it had gone by, we stood.

"That was the Pharaoh, Amenhotep III, and his daughter, Nefertiti. It's mandatory that you bow in front of them, or you'll be killed."

"Good to know," Ramona muttered as she brushed she sand from her dress.

"I can talk to his daughter and see if you can speak with her…but you'll need to get out of that outfit. You can't go in there looking like commoners. Follow me." he motioned us down the road. According to him, there was a way to sneak inside the place where we could get a change of clothes and he could talk with Nefertiti and pull some strings for us. The palace itself was in a square shape and rather large. It was made out of some sort of clay substance, like most of the buildings around here, bricks, and mortar. The climbed his way inside through a rope hanging from a four story window. We climbed behind Slytankhmen III and stayed on the balcony while he snuck inside. He would get us a change of clothes so we would blend in with the people inside while he talked with Nefertiti. We waited outside, overlooking the scenery while the other Cooper was inside. It was starting to get late with the sun setting, giving everything an orange glow with streaks of purple going through the sky. Ramona rested her paws against the banister, looking over the city. She had the same expression she had as we walked to the bazaar. I stood next to her, leaning on the rail as well, and glanced over to her.

"You still have that feeling?" she nodded and rubbed her arms as if she was trying to forget something.

Slytankhmen III returned a few moments later with a change of clothes for each of us. He told us to change quickly and to move around the palace; that was to keep attention away from us, while he talked with the Pharaoh's daughter. Ramona and I changed quickly into our new outfits after we were sure we were alone. My outfit was similar to that of Slytankhmen III, a pair of sandals, and headdress, and another skirt. Ramona's was a bit more elegant. A long dress that was gold in color with streaks of blue inside. She had sandals herself and her hair was still down. We walked through the hallways of the palace, looking at the different things inside and admiring the sheer size of the temple. It was strange to see all the paintings still on the wall and not chipped or faded like you would see in photos thousands of years later. We stayed silent as we walked, not really having anything to say to each other, and kept going forward until we reached a rather large, empty room. There were a few tables, but no people. Ramona stopped at a wall and looked over the hieroglyph painted on the wall. She had kept her satchel with her when she change and she already had a notebook out by the time I stood next to her.

"You find something interesting?" she nodded and showed me her notebook. She pointed to a copy of a hieroglyph and then to the one on the wall.

"They're the same," she muttered, "And according to my research…that's the name of Nefertiti's lover. But that's not the interesting part…the interesting part is who the person is. Look really close," she closer the book and pointed to the final picture in the name, "Take out the Thievius Raccoonus and turn to the section on Slytankhmen III." I had an idea of where she was going with this but I pulled out my family's book anyway and flipped to the section on Slytankhmen III.

"Alright, now what?" she smiled and pointed to the hieroglyphic name in the book and pointed to the wall.

"Look familiar? It looks like our ancestors are closer than they appear." She was right, they were exactly the same. I shut my book and glanced to her. She was resting her back against the wall with the hieroglyph and shrugged.

"Go figure." She said simply. I turned to shove the book back in my pouch. While I was closing the latch on the bag, I heard a few stones shift and Ramona screech. I looked back up in time to see that the wall had opened up and Ramona had fallen backwards inside another room. The secret door shut with Ramona inside. I pounded my fist against the wall and pressed my ear against the cold stone.

"Ramona! Are you ok?" I shouted through the stones and hoped to hear her voice.

"I'm fine!" she called back, "I fell on some sand so it's alright! It's just a little dark back here…and cold! Can you see a way for me to get out of here?" I pushed against the wall, hoping it would open, but nothing happened.

"I don't think I can get this wall to open again! I'll try to find another way in! Are you going to ok in there until I figure out how to get this thing open?"

"I'll be fine…just find another door! I stay here and keep an eye on things!" I chuckled at her comment and started searching for another way inside the room. I looked up and noticed a hole, just big enough for me to squeeze through, at the top of the wall. I couldn't climb up the wall directly, so I'd need to find another way up there. I noticed a statue in the corner and used that to my advantage. I quickly scaled the statue and inched my way across the small ledge until I reached the hole. I was crouched inside the opening, ready to jump down when I noticed something; Ramona wasn't the only one in the room. A rather large, black jackal, dressed in time appropriate clothing, was standing in front of Ramona with a torch. He was rather muscular and he towered over the height challenged raccoon. I listened as he spoke to Ramona in a rather deep voice.

"I know you understand me, young one. You are your father's child. Which also means you bare the same fate as your ancestors," he spoke in riddles and the next thing really made it more complicated, "A chain of events have been set in motion, involving the Bandicoot family history. Linking each and every daughter to a lethal curse. That will bring death until one has solved this riddle's mystery. A never ending bond has sealed your fate. The answer you seek is close to your heart. Discover the true meaning within it, before the world as you know it falls apart," he pointed a finger in Ramona's direction and spoke again, "You have only five days until this curse claims your fate and life as well. But you must hurry, young one," I noticed he reached behind her and slammed an hourglass on the ground. The sand started pouring to the bottom slowly as he lowered the torch closer to Ramona's face as he spoke again, "For the sands of time…have already begun to pour against you."


	3. Chapter 3: Thieves in Thebes

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_I know this chapter's a little shorter than the other two but since I wanted to split chapter 2 in half…this is the second half. But the other chapters should be longer like chapters 1 and 2. And sorry for the delay updates on this story…since these are longer chapters than what I normally write it'll take longer for me to write. But I should have one chapter a week if I'm lucky! Anyway, please read and review and let me know what you think so far. Thanks! And again I want to thank "ForeverFreelancer" for helping me with parts of this story so thanks! _

Chapter 3: Thieves in Thebes

Thebes, Egypt 1300 B.C.

"I don't understand." Ramona said slowly as the jackal growled out his breaths. He flexed his bare chest and shook his head.

"You'd better listen," he loomed over Ramona, making her look like a dwarf against his size, "Someone is at work, trying to destroy your family line. You must find out who this is before your can try anything. Then solve my riddle in order to survive. You have until the sands in that glass run our or you won't exist anymore. You will be wiped from history and all of your efforts will have been destroyed. You have five days." He growled again and started backing away; blending in with the shadows. His torch light disappeared and Ramona was alone in the room, obviously concerned. I jumped from my perch and made my way up to her, placing my paw on her shoulder. She jumped at my touch but settled down after glancing to me. I silently ushered her to the opening I had come through, trying to keep from anyone else from noticing us as she grabbed the hourglass and we climbed upwards over the wall, eventually slipping down silently. She placed the hourglass on the ground and glanced to me, a worried look etched on her face. Anyone would be terrified if they were to have a curse like that put upon them and Ramona was no exception. I had heard then entire conversation between the two and I had no idea what the answer to this riddle was and by the look on her face…Ramona didn't know either.

"Sly…" she said slowly as she glanced in my direction. I simply cut her off by closing her jaws with my paws.

"Listen, we'll talk with Bentley and see what he says." She nodded and I released her jaws. She placed the hourglass in her pouch and sighed.

"I knew I had a bad feeling." She muttered silently. She brushed her bangs from her face and I could tell she was nervous. I'd have Bentley see what he could decipher from her riddle and hopefully solve it quickly.

"Look, we'll do our research here and then go see Bentley. Speaking of which, where is that royal ancestor of yours anyway?" She shrugged and as if summoned we both jumped when the solid gold doors down the hall from us burst open forcefully. Slytankhmen III sped through the doorway, using his paw to make us follow him. I took Ramona by the wrist and tugged her forward with me, trying to figure out what my ancestor was trying to tell us.

"We're late for the ceremony. If they've started and we're not there…it'll be our heads."

"Ceremony?" Ramona repeated as we hurried down the halls. The Egyptian nodded and sped up.

"It's the birthday of the princess. It's mandatory that everyone in the palace goes. She hates the attention but her father insists that this one is important." He placed a finger over his mouth and we entered the grand room silently. He pushed us towards the back while he went in another direction. We stood in the back and watched the ceremony begin. Everyone, including us, bowed as the pharaoh entered with his daughter. They sat on their thrones and waited for the people to rise. I glanced to Ramona's family member and noticed her expression. She was not in a good mood and looked like she was ready to hit someone.

"I've done my research," Ramona whispered to where her voice was barely audible, "You have to watch out for her temper."

"Like I have to watch out for yours?" she shot me an annoyed glance as we watched the ceremony unfold. I couldn't understand what was being said, given the language barrier, but I could watch. The pharaoh went on rambling on and on about something, more than likely his daughter, before finally standing and walked down the few steps from his throne to the ground floor. Slytankhmen III came into view with a chest in his grasp.

He stood in front of the pharaoh and bowed, holding the chest up to the pharaoh. The pharaoh started talking again, making gestures with his arms and speaking loudly. His golden robes moved as he did while his jewels sparkled in the torchlight. I was starting to get bored of the ceremony, not really seeing the point in it, and by the looks of it, Ramona was thinking the same thing. She was beyond bored and looked like she was ready to go home…or to another time period and I was ready to get out of here. The pharaoh finally stopped talking and opened the chest Slytankhmen was holding. He removed a rather large necklace and walked to his daughter. Ramona tugged at my arm and leaned towards my ear to talk.

"That's the same necklace my father gave me," before voice was barely a whisper and I had to concentrate to understand what she was saying, "He told me that it was old but I didn't think this old. The chain is obviously different but it's the same sapphire as the one she has there." She lifted the necklace from her neck and I glanced to the gem. It was large and a deep blue. The chain Ramona had was a thin gold on but the one Nefertiti had was huge. Her father placed it around her neck and her shoulders sunk at the weight of the chain. It took up a majority of her chest area with the sapphire in the middle and gold and other small jewels taking up the rest of the space.

The princess still didn't look like she was in a good mood even after hugging her father and descending the stairs to leave. There was something she was unhappy about and wasn't afraid to show it. She turned her head away from where Ramona and I stood and she glanced to someone on the opposite wall. According to what Ramona as found out, I had a good idea on who it was. Eventually, the crowd dispersed and Ramona and I exited, following Slytankhmen III through the palace. He said he'd try to get us a chance to talk with Nefertiti and get as much information as we could get. I'd probably let Ramona talk with her about…whatever she wanted…and I'd talk with Slytankhmen III about his history and see if I could get any information about his mysterious jackal that had 'cursed' Ramona. I personally didn't believe in curses and figured it could only be someone trying to freak her out. But then again…time travel is supposed to be impossible yet we're in ancient Egypt. But despite that, there was no such thing as curses. I snapped out of my thoughts when we were told to stay put in some sort of 'royal' room. Or at least what I thought was royal. This entire palace was made out of gold and decorative bricks and I couldn't tell the pharaohs living quarters from the servants'. Ramona and I slunk to the floor, allowing our feet to rest after standing for most of the day, and her worried face returned.

"Don't worry about what that man told you, Ramona," I told her quietly, "I'll talk to Slytankhmen and see if he knows anything about him. Than I'll call into Bentley and see what he says about this 'curse'." She nodded, but she still wasn't convinced. She simply stayed quiet and rested her head on my shoulder. I sighed and got ready to speak again, but we ended up jerking up from our seats when a rather flustered princess stormed through the double doors along with Slytankhmen III and her father. Ramona and I stuck to the wall, still in sight but stayed completely silent. The princess was absolutely enraged and not wanting to be bothered. However, her father behind her wasn't going to let that happen.

"Nefertiti!" he shouted while he clenched his fists. He was still dressed in royal clothing, adorned in gold and jewels, and he wasn't too pleased with his daughter, "Nefertiti, you will not walk away from me! You will marry Akhenaten within the following month! You will not disgrace this family because of your stubbornness!" the young woman whirled around and growled, her long hair brushing against her shoulders and the bangles on her wrists clanging together.

"I'm not marrying him father! My life isn't something you can simply throw away because of your greed for power! Akhenaten has already been married and I will not marry someone who has been married. Just like I won't marry someone who has a wife! I won't play second wife to another woman and I won't have someone play second wife around me! I will not marry him and you cannot make me!"

"I guess I was right about the anger issues," Ramona whispered softly. I chuckled and nodded.

"Now I know where _you_ get it from." She scoffed quietly and punched my side. We turned back to the argument in front of us and stayed quiet.

"Are you willing to let all my efforts go to waste because of your stubbornness? You will marry Akhenaten and that's the end of things!" she pharaoh shouted before reaching the door, his golden robes swaying behind him. He opened the doors forcefully and slammed them behind him. Things were quiet for a moment until the pharaoh's daughter started an uproar. She flung a cat figurine off a nearby table and growled.

"I'm not marring Akhenaten. I won't do it, Cooper, I won't do it," She sat in a chair and turned to Ramona, "You must be the other Bandicoot." She smiled and patted the seat beside her. Ramona was a little hesitant and eventually sat next to the temperamental raccoon. Then, with a flick of her paw, ushered Slytankhmen and I away into the other room. We did what we were told and walked away to leave the two women to talk amongst each other. I wanted until we were out of range from overhearing ears to start talking.

"Is she always that…angry?" the other Cooper laughed and nodded as we continued walking.

"Just about every day," she laughed again, "but, I don't think I'd be too happy if I had my wife chosen for me. So, it can't be too fun for a princess to have her father choose her husband simply for a political arrangement. And I guess that's what makes her unique and different from other women around here."

"I take it you're fond of her." He nodded and stayed silent. It was obvious he wasn't going to admit being involved with Ramona's ancestor, so, now would have been the right time to ask him about the mysterious jackal.

"Let me ask you something," I scratched the back of my neck as I thought of how to word this without sounding stupid, "Have you seen a black jackal around here?" he stopped walking and furred his eyebrows.

"No, what did it look like?" I didn't like the expression on his face and I was getting more and more worried about that jackal.

"Like a jackal…I guess…big, tall, muscular, solid black, deep voice. Is that bad?" he nodded and pointed to the wall. There was a tall statue of the same jackal that had bullied Ramona.

"Was it him?" I nodded and he shook his head, "This isn't good. Did someone see him?" I nodded again.

"Ramona did. She saw him a little over an hour ago." He shook his head again and stroked his chin.

"She saw that god of death, Anubis. This is really bad, really bad. If he gave her a riddle, then she has a death wish." I felt my stomach drop.

"How so?" he sighed again and continued.

"Anubis is the god of death and the afterlife. If she came into contact with him, she'll be dead in a matter of days. I'm sure he gave her a riddle?" I nodded, "Then she has until the end of her time span to solve that riddle. If she doesn't, she'll die." I sighed, thinking about how to fix this. I needed to talk with Bentley to see what we would do. I branched away from my ancestor momentarily to talk with Bentley. I quickly explained to him what had happened with the jackal and what Slytankhmen III had told me.

"Well, if this is a common trait through her family, we'll have to meet her ancestors and see what they have in common. There's no way around it." Bentley said through my earpiece. I ended the conversation when I noticed Ramona coming down the hallway.

"So," I said after she stopped near me, "how did you like your ancestor?"

"She's okay when she's not mad. Did you find anything out about that man." I nodded and rubbed the back of my neck.

"You have to solve that riddle, Ramona. Bentley says you'll need to meet your ancestors to figure it out."

"Alright," she was still nervous but willing to give it a try, "So where are we going next?"

"Medieval England." I said proudly.

_I know I didn't go into much detail into this ancestor but this was mainly focused on the curse from chapter 2. I'll go into more detail in the next chapters and the next chapter will be longer I promise!_


	4. Chapter 4: Dark Knights

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Chapter 4's finally up! Sorry for the delay, I've been sick for the past week and haven't really felt like writing. But, I finally started feeling better and wrote chapter 4. Hopefully it won't take this long to post chapter 5 but I'll try my best. Anyway, please read and review and let me know what you think!_

Chapter 4: Dark Knights

Nottinghamshire, England 1453 A.D.

"You know," Ramona muttered as we shuffled through the city, "I really, really hate wearing dresses." I chuckled and gave her a sideways glance. We had managed to find a few disguises to help us blend into the surroundings of fifteenth century England and she wasn't too happy about the dress we had found for her.

"You look fine," she scoffed and pulled at her dress, trying to make it more comfortable to wear.

"I look like a milkmaid, Cooper. I feel stupid," she grumbled, "I'll be so happy when I can wear pants again instead of these stupid things," I chuckled again, shaking my head in the process, and waited for her to continue, "So what exactly is the plan, Cooper? Do we just meander around until we run into someone or do you have a scheme to get us somewhere?"

"We need to figure out where your ancestor was at this time, an mine for that matter, before we can do anything else." She nodded at scratched at her nose. The cool evening air of fifteenth century England was setting in and if we didn't find out ancestors soon we'd have to settle in for the night with nothing to show for it.

"Well, I don't know about your family, but I know where mine _should_ be." I knitted my eyebrows together and cocked my head in her direction.

"Should?" I repeated, "Where _should _this Bandicoot be, exactly?" she flicked her head around, tossing her bangs to the side as we continued to trudge through the darkening city.

"She's supposed to be up there," she pointed to the looming castle ahead of us, "in that tower." I glanced to the concrete fortress and noticed a glowing orange light illuminating a room in the tower window. I saw something long hanging from the window, swaying in the soft breeze. I couldn't really tell what it was, given to the poor illumination, but it looked like some sort of rope; an easy escape route from someone from the room or for someone to crawl inside.

"I thought dungeons were supposed to be at the bottom." I nudged her playfully with my elbow and had a scoff thrown at me in return.

"They are sometimes but it's not a dungeon, Cooper, it's a bedroom. Princess Katherine of Nottinghamshire is the daughter of the king, Richard II. Despite her promising chance to rule the kingdom after her father resigns, she had a nasty habit of stealing behind her father's back. When her father found out her kept her in that tower, instead of executing her like any other thief. But, she of course still snuck out through the window, stole what she wanted, and climbed back up before the sun rose the following morning. And if my eyesight is correct, it seems as if she's out on a thieving binge at the moment." She pointed to the rope hanging from the window.

"Sound's like you, Mademoiselle." Her head tilted in confusion as she tried to figure out what I was saying.

"Do explain, Sly, do explain." She pulled on her dress again and I continued.

"Adventurous with a bit of sneakiness thrown in along with a complete disregard for the rules given out by a government figure. Mix that with the anger issues from Nefertiti and you have yourself part of what is Ramona Bandicoot. You're a spitting image of your ancestors, Mademoiselle."

"Like you're not?" she retorted, "You got some of your manners, the more obedient ones, from Slytankhmen III and from what you've told me about Sir Galleth, you seem to get your charm and sense of 'rescue' from him as well. As I recall, you seem to have a knack of saving my tail on a regular basis."

"Touché, my dear, touché." She smirked and we kept strolling through the dirty streets of the city. We needed to figure out a way into that tower without calling too much attention to ourselves. We could always steal another set of disguises and sneak in that way. Ramona could appear to be a new member of the royal staff, giving her a chance to meet her ancestor and I could find a way to get in touch with Galleth. Along with that we'd have new information to help her solve the riddle given to her in Egypt. We had four days, along with the rest of tonight, to figure it out before she, disappears, I guess would be the correct turn. After she was asleep and I was sure she wasn't listening, I'd talk it over with Bentley to see if he's figured out the riddles' answer. I could tell this was eating away at the back of her mind, but I knew that if I could keep her mind focused on her ancestors then she wouldn't be as worried.

The night silent was broken by the sounds of snorting horses and their hooves accompanied by the shouts of their riders. From the sounds of it, it had to be about seven or eight men, and it was obvious they were covered in armor. I glanced around, looking around for the armored men and their horses, while keeping Ramona close to my side. I pulled out my cane for protection and hope the men would pass. I honestly felt like I was overreacting…we were from the future so who would recognize us? Besides that jackal from Egypt, no one knows who we are or where we were from, but I figured I'd rather be safe than sorry when given our current situation with the curse. The snorts of the horses were louder and so were the voices. The men were now shouting, something about a man hunt. Ramona and I started to make our way away from the men, keeping out of sight, when they rounded a nearby corner. Each man was mounted on their horses, one with a royal looking flag in their grasp, each supporting a sword on their waist and armor covering their bodies. Some men had feathers protruding from their helmets, a symbol of superiority and military rank. There were about six men total; all of them appeared to be relatively young, maybe late twenties. I recognized one as Galleth. He was towards the back, not really participating in the man hunt. It looked as if he was looking for a way to get out of it. From what I've read in the Thievius Raccoonus about him, he was a knight for the king. He was quite honorable and pretty good at it. However, he was a thief when no one was looking.

"There," one of them barked as he pointed towards Ramona, "we've found here. Take her back to her father and make sure she doesn't get back out." The others, besides Galleth, nodded and their horses stride forward. One of them quickly grabbed Ramona by the scruff of her neck and hoisted her up on the horse. I stepped forward to grab her back but ended up with the tip of a sword to my face. Ramona was starting to put up a fight, but the man on the same horse wouldn't let her down.

"Stay." He barked as he faced me. That's when I recognized him. It was the same jackal that was in Egypt. He was following us and I didn't know what he wanted. The jackal lowered his sword from my throat and smacked the reigns against his horse, making the animal start to trot forward. He hit his feet against the sides of the horse and quickly made his way down the street; Ramona still perched on the back end of the horse. The other riders kept their eyes on me as they followed their leader. I had to wait for them to completely leave the area before going after Ramona. I wasn't really sure how the security worked around here, so I'd need help from a local; Sir Galleth Cooper. He hadn't left with the others, so he had to be around here somewhere. I glanced around quickly, searching for my medieval ancestor and a way to get Ramona back from that jackal. I needed to find Galleth and soon. If anyone would know where Ramona would be taken, it would be him. I had to find him fast; we only have a few days to solve this riddle and we needed Ramona in order to do it.

I started going in the direction the horses had gone, hoping to figure out where they had gone in. I followed the hoof prints in the mud quickly, but I was starting to loose the path due to rocks, patches of grass, and people walking over them, smashing them into the mud or disfiguring them. I had only followed them a short distance before they finally were lost within the cold mud. There was no way around it, I needed help from Galleth. The only problem was, I had no idea where he was. He had disappeared sometime during Ramona's 'capture' and now he was the only one that could tell me where they had taken Ramona. I could assume they had taken her to the castle, but the question was where they put her inside it. I kept moving forward until I was away from the other villagers. I stuck to the shadows, looking for my knightly ancestor. He couldn't have gone far; this village wasn't that big and moving in the armor couldn't be that easy. It was getting darker outside and I didn't know the layout of this village. If I didn't find Galleth soon, the search for Ramona would have to be moved to tomorrow, causing out entire time schedule of four days to be ruined. I rounded a corner and felt relief when I finally spotted him a few feet away. I scurried towards him, wanting to get his attention before he disappeared.

"Sir Galleth, "I said as I approached him, "My name is Sly Cooper. Your fellow knights took my…" I had no idea hot to refer to Ramona. Friend, love interest, rival, or what but I had to think of something fast, "…my wife...where did they take her?"

"Ahh!" he beamed proudly, "A fellow Cooper! And right up there," he pointed to the tower of the castle, "It seems that they've mistaken your wife for the princess." Well at least Ramona wasn't arrested for something. Now the question was on how I would get her back safely without getting caught. I nodded and thought about how I would do this. I needed Galleth's help in order to do this. He knew that castle like the back of his paw and he could get me in and out no problem.

"How do I get up there?" he smile and motioned me forward.

"Follow me, good sir. There's a simple way to ascend those stairs without being seen by the palace guards. Besides, you will need this," he held up a simple skeleton key, "to get that bedroom door open." He started walking towards the castle with me on this tail.

"How do they mistake a royal princess for a…commoner?" he sighed as we continued on our rescue mission.

"Not many of the guards have been allowed to see the king's daughter. They're only given a small description of her when she escapes, she has a pretty bad habit of it, so when they find a young raccoon, they assume it's her and take her to the castle, thinking it's the princess. It actually happens more than you'd think." That actually made a little bit of sense. Ramona did look like her ancestors, that and given the fact she is a blood relative, they were actually pretty close. We continued in silence, trying to keep our presence unknown as we inched closer and closer to the tower. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was get stuck inside a dungeon. We ducked behind the bushes to avoid being spotted by the nearby guards. We slowly inched by the shrubs, keeping our steps silent and soft on the ground. Galleth led the way towards the back of the castle. After we were out of sight we stood, tiptoeing our way to the back entrance. The moonlight illuminated our path, bathing everything in a blue glow yet keeping everything cool. Crickets chirped in the distance and there were no guards in the surrounding area. My ancestor stopped in his tracks and pulled out his sword.

"You there," he said sternly, "I have a sword drawn. State your business." There was a hooded figure standing by the back entrance to the castle. The hood turned its head slowly and raised its arms to remove the hood. The sleeves fell down the persons arm and I noticed the paws were rather feminine. The hood was pulled down elegantly and a face was exposed. A rather young woman stood there, giving Galleth an annoyed look. He quickly shoved his sword back in its sheath and straightened this posture.

"Your majesty," she sputtered out, "I didn't recognize you. What are you doing out?" she rolled her eyes and an elegant smile appeared on her lips.

"Like you don't know, Sir." It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize this was Ramona's ancestor, Katherine. She was a spitting image of Ramona, despite the different accent, and even the facial expression were similar. Sir Galleth rushed forward and held the door open for the princes. She walked in slowly and he ushered me behind her. I did was I was told and followed the raccoon inside. The door closed behind me and the three of us traveled through the dark corridor. Katherine lit a torch and lifted it from the wall. Galleth took the light source from the woman, briefly placing paw on her shoulder and giving her a smile. Like Slytankhmen III, it was apparent that there was something romantic going on between these two as well.

"Who's this?" Katherine asked softly as she pointed to me. She gave me a soft smile and waited for a reply.

"He's another Cooper," Galleth said as he doubled back to join us, "Your fathers guards mistook his wife for you…again." she princess scoffed and we started climbing a narrow set of stairs.

"My father," she huffed, "my father tries to keep me caged like a bird that needs to fly away." She lifted the bottom of her dress up to climb the stairs and the rustling of her dress, combined with the slight clank from Galleth's armor, was the only sound emitting from the three of us in the empty corridor. We stayed silent as we ascended the stone stairs and we stopped at the top, listening for any sounds of people on the other side of the door. Things were silent on the other side of the door and the torch was blown out before the creak of the heavy wooded door was opened. We had basically entered through a back door to the castle and now all we had to do was find the tower, get Ramona out, and we'd be in the clear. We inched against the wall quietly, keeping our presence away from any possible people inside the castle. I followed the raccoon through the hallways of the large structure, waiting to be led to the room that housed Ramona.

We eventually came to a stop in front of another large door. Galleth stepped forward, taking the key out from his armor and sticking it in the lock before opening the door open softly. He allowed Katherine to enter first, considering this was her bedroom, before letting me step in behind her. I noticed Ramona inside, a bored expression on her face as she absent mindedly braided a lower section of her lengthy hair. She looked up from her position on the nearby bed when the sound of the heavy door opened. I noticed something peculiar about Ramona; it seemed as if someone in the castle, probably the king or someone of high authority had wanted to keep her inside, by chaining her to the bed post.

"Finally," she said as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, "faces I recognize!" she pulled her arm, confirming the fact she had been handcuffed to the bed post, and flipped her hair from her face.

"My own father can't even tell that this isn't me," Katherine said as she looked over Ramona's shackles, "Which is another reason why I disobey." She removed her cloak and tossed it on the bed behind Ramona. She pulled a necklace up from underneath her clothing and placed it on the outside; the same necklace that Ramona had. It was obvious she wasn't too fond of her father and would do just about anything to agitate him. Katherine sat beside her, taking Ramona's arm into her grasp to overlook the lock on her wrists.

"There you are good sir, your wife here safe and sound." Ramona's head snapped in my direction and a curious look on her face.

"Indeed she is." I turned to her and placed my finger over my lips, telling her to stay quiet. She wasn't aware that for the moment she was my lovely wedded wife, but I needed a way to get Galleth to get me up here.

"A daring rescue to find your captured wife," Katherine beamed after she snapped the handcuffs from Ramona's wrist, "Now that is what I call heroic. How did you meet her?" I was lost for words for a few minutes, trying to figure out a way to say this. I hadn't thought this through and the fact that Ramona was sitting there, listening to what I was saying, wasn't settling my nerves.

"You mean Ramona?" I pointed to the raccoon on the bed and she roller her eyes.

"Well I am your _wife_ aren't I?" she wasn't about to let me off with a statement like this without giving me grief.

"Well that is an interesting story…" I gave a nervous smile towards the princess, and my supposed wife, as I tried to think of a somewhat believable story. I opened my mouth to speak, only to be cut off by loud bangs on the door.

"Katherine!" a male's voice boomed through the door. Katherine shot up from her be and turned to Galleth.

"My father!" she whispered harshly, "If he finds any of you in here, he'll kill you!" she rushed to another door besides her bed and flung it open, "Move it!" she ushered all three of us forward, into the dark corridor.

"And what exactly happens if we're caught?" Ramona's voice rang through the darkness as we started hurrying through the stone corridor.

"Execution." Two British voices answered out question and we stayed silent. Things weren't going like we had planned. We hadn't really had a change to get to know any of our ancestors in the past two time periods we had gone through and we weren't any closer to solving this riddle. We had to start getting information from out family members or things would end horribly. We would get information in the next time period we went and we would work on this riddle. But for now, we had to worry about getting away from the castle guards.

I pulled Ramona forcefully by her arm, trying to rush down the corridor before we were caught by the castle guards. Katherine led the way with Galleth behind us, keeping the guards behind us.

"When we came here, this isn't what I had in mind!" Ramona shouted as we rushed through the castle, keeping away from the angered guards.

"Neither did I," I retorted, "but unless you want to stay here you'd better get moving! Galleth!" I shouted, quickly glancing back to the raccoon, "Where does this let out?"

"The back of the castle," he huffed as we ran, "We can get you outside, but when it comes making a getaway you're on your own!" I nodded and turned on my earpiece.

"Bentley!" I shouted, "Get Murray to pull the can around to the back of the castle. We need to get out of here fast!" I tugged on her arm a little harder and she picked up speed.

"This way!" Katherine shouted as we rushed down the hallway. She slid to a stop and pulled at a rock towards the floor. Galleth soon appeared and started pulling as well, doing most of the work for her. The rock was eventually moved and we were pushed forward through the hole.

"Keep out of sight!" Katherine's voice rang behind us, "Farewell!" Ramona was the first one through the hole and I was close behind her. I searched for the van and kept Ramona's wrist tight in my grip. The van eventually pulled into sight and stopped in front of us. I pushed her inside and got in myself before Murray tore through the quiet scenery of medieval England.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I sighed as I stretch out on the floor of the van. It had been a long day, especially after trying to get Ramona back from her early 'capture', and I was ready to just sleep. Of course I wasn't the only one; Murray had already passed out in the front seat of the van while Bentley was starting to doze off in his wheelchair. Ramona stretched out next to me on the floor, something eating away at her mind. I covered my eyes by placing my arms over my face, trying to shut my brain down and get some sleep. I yawned deeply with sleep already to start setting in. I hear Ramona shifting beside me, probably trying to get comfortable or something to that effect. She was getting restless, more than likely worrying about seeing the jackal again and the curse that had been put upon her. That riddle would be tricky to solve; it wasn't simple. I replayed the verses of the riddle over and over again in my mind, trying to solve at least a little bit of it. I had managed to figure out that if she didn't solve it then she would die, or something close to that, and that we only had four more days to figure it out. According to the riddle, every member of her family has fallen victim to the same curse and Ramona was next. Which could only make me wonder if her brothers and sisters were in the same predicament, but for now I would focus solely on her. I didn't know how to solve the riddle and I would worry about it in the morning. But for now, I would get some sleep. I reached over, trying to place my paw on Ramona's head, only to find that it wasn't there. I looked over to where she had been resting and felt around, looking for her form. But it didn't take long for me to realize that she wasn't there. Ramona was missing.

_Well it's written…but I'm not too thrilled about it. I feel like this chapter was rushed and the sentences were…stupid. I had a case of writers block with the chapter, I knew what I wanted but actually getting it down on 'paper' wasn't that easy. But I wanted to go ahead a post it, considering the update gap, so…please be kind! And I will try to make the next chapter better, I promise!_


	5. Chapter 5: A False Alarm

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Here's chapter 5! I know it's shorter than the others, but the others won't be this short…maybe one or two later, but the others should reach the 3,500-4,000 word mark. Anyway, please read and review and let me know what you think. Thanks!_

Chapter 5: A False Alarm

Nottinghamshire, England 1453 A.D.

I instantly snapped up, searching for the missing raccoon or any sign of her. My night vision started to kick in after a few moments and it was confirmed, Ramona simply wasn't there. It simply made no since; she had just been there a moment ago as she was settling down next to me. I put my paw where she had been, feeling for warmth to see if she had been there recently in the past few moments. There was a faint trace of her outline in the blankets and a slight warmth was present in the covers. I crawled silently to the back doors of the can, trying to avoid waking up Bentley and Murray, and opened them up slightly; just enough for me to squeeze through the crack and slip outside. I touched down on the ground softly, looking for any footprints that could have come from Ramona, or signs from anyone that could have possibly snuck inside the van, but the ground was unprinted and smooth. I was starting to worry; there was no sign of Ramona and I didn't have a clue on where to start looking. My ears perked at the sound of a sniff and I was immediately drawn to the roof of the van. I stepped on the edge of the van and crawled upwards to the roof, hoping to find the mysteriously missing raccoon. The worry soon went out of my mind when I spotted Ramona lying lengthwise on the roof of the van. Her head became level with my chest after I had pulled myself halfway up to the roof. She looked up at me, making the top of her head touch the rood of the van.

"So this is where you drifted off to. You had me thinking that curse came into affect early," I winked and pulled myself up onto the top of the van, stretching out beside her, "What brings you up here this late at night? I figured you'd be the first one asleep."

"I couldn't sleep," she said with a shrug, "I've been trying to figure out the answer to that riddle, but I can't solve it. Has Bentley cracked anything about it yet?"

"Well," I sat up as well and scratched at the back of my neck, "according to that riddle, every member of your family has fallen fate to this curse, right?" she nodded, "Then what's been a common thread for all of them; besides knowing a devilishly gook-looking Cooper?" I flashed Ramona a smile and she rolled her eyes followed by a punch to my chest.

"Besides knowing a cocky member of the Cooper family," she said with another roll of her eyes, "they've all seemed to die before thirty." Now that was interesting. Ramona would be thirty in a few years and it seemed to fit her family's pattern. Now if that was the answer to the riddle or something else was still unknown, but it had to be a step in the right direction.

"I thought your dad was in mid thirties when he died." She nodded and shifted her bangs to the side.

"Thirty-four, but he's the exception. Other than that, all the Bandicoots have died before thirty."

"Then that can't be the answer. I wouldn't think that your father could be an exception if _every _member of your family has been cursed with." She shrugged and rested her head in her paws.

"I don't know," her voice was muffled, "I have no idea what they have in common and I don't know if we're going to have enough time to go through each and everyone in enough detail to figure that out," she lifted her head and swung her bangs from her face, "We've already gone through two of them and haven't found out anything new. And say we go through two a day, we only have four days left to figure this out and we need that last day to actually do…something…if we need to."

"We only need three days, Ramona, and I promise, in our next location we'll find out something. And we'll keep doing it for all the others until we figure out this curse." She was still uneasy and didn't seem to confidant in my answer. She shifted so that she sat across from me and picked at her nails as she spoke.

"Well what happens if we don't solve it and the curse completely unfolds? That jackal said that if it's not solved then I don't exist. Now I don't know if that means I die or if something in history happens that makes me not exist, but whatever it is, I don't want it to happen." She had been thinking for a long time on this and she was scared. She didn't know how all of this would turn out, I didn't either, but I didn't want her to think about the negatives. If we could figure this out before the five day limit, then everything would be fine.

"Listen," I said as I took her paws in mine and stroked them softly, "don't worry about that. We will figure it out and nothing bad is going to happen to you. But if something does, and this is a big 'if', then I don't care how long it takes, I don't care what I have to do, I will go back and figure out how to reverse it; I promise." She nodded and by the look on her face, it was obvious she was still thinking about this.

"Did you find anything out about the jackal on your way to the castle?" she shrugged quietly and glanced to the stone building in the distance.

"I don't know anything about him, but I think it's pretty obvious he has a way to travel through time like we do. I don't know who he is or how he knows who I am, but he's not someone to trust. As for the time travel, I have no idea how he's doing it."

"It's obvious that he knows you, do you know anyone that has the brains to actually build a time machine." She sat in silence for a minute in thought, going through her mind to find answer.

"I don't know," her voice finally broke through the silence, "I know too many people with the kind of brain power to point a finger." I needed to change the subject; the more and more we talked about this, the more worried she became.

"Where do you want to go next? What part of the world just peaks your interest?" I nudged her gently and she smiled.

"Some place warm, with a good bit of sun. I'm tired of freezing my fur off." I barked a quiet laugh, still cautious team members sleeping just a few feet below us.

"Well," I said as I nudged her paws again, "how does Arabia sound? It's right near the equator and that should be nice and toasty for you." I winked at her again and she pulled out of my grasp before stretching out on the roof of the van and looking up towards the sky. I stretched out beside her and looked up as well.

"That sounds nice," she said though a sigh, "I prefer the heat anyway. After growing up in southern Australia, I hate the cold." Silence set in between us and the only noise came from the chorus of crickets somewhere in the nearby woods. She brought one of her paws up to her neck and grasped her necklace, running her fingertips over the smooth surface of the sapphire.

"When I was a kid," Ramona murmured eventually, "I could walk out on the back deck of my dad's and count the stars in the sky. You can't do that in Paris now, too many lights." She rested the side of her head on my shoulder and sighed. I smiled at her comment; on the outside, she tried to appear as this tough, emotionless person. But the truth was, she was a big softie on the inside would could find comfort in just about anything. She knew that I was aware of her inner personality and she showed her softer side constantly.

"Let me ask you something," I told her as she took my paws in her own, "being on the subject of time travel," I paused and glanced in her direction, "I know that your life…sucked as a kid. So if you had the chance to change the death of your dad, would you do it?" she paused briefly in thought while absently mindedly running her fingertips across my paw.

"As strange as this may sound," she said after a few silent moments, "I don't think I would," I cocked my head as best I could, given my position, and knitted my eyebrows together. That honestly wasn't the answer I was expecting from her.

"Really, I would have expected you to say yes." She snorted a small laugh and explained.

"As much as I would have loved not going through what I went through as a child; being there when my father died, enduring the wrath of my mother and her new husband, getting sent to an orphanage, getting abducting from the orphanage, being experimented on for four years or so, and living on the streets for most of my teens, I think that's what's made me the way I am. My mother taught us not to show pain, weakness, or emotion, a good tactic when battling it guards three times your size. The experiments made by Dr. Cortex strengthened my endurance and physical capabilities, the cornerstone of thieving, and living on the streets taught me how to survive in harsh conditions. The streets of Paris weren't safe when I was a teenager, Sly; they were cruel and tough, full of crazies and murderers. Like on my sixteenth birthday, instead of spending it with my friends, getting treated like a queen only to have a brand new car and its keys be handed over to me by the end of the day like most teen girls, I spent mine running down the streets of the city, trying to get away from a crazy man wielding a machete screaming, 'I'm going to like…kill you…and stuff!'. I had to find my own food and sometimes make my own clothes in order to survive the winters. It was hard, sure, but it taught me how to survive. It my father never died…I don't think I would have ended up like this. In fact, I wouldn't even be in Paris; I'd be in Australia, thieving down there. If I wasn't sent to that orphanage, you and I wouldn't know each other the way we do. Everything happens for a reason, Sly. And if I fall fate to this curse like all my other ancestors, then it was meant to be."

"You're a tough little thing, aren't you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She giggled quietly with a nod and turned on her side, facing me. She curled into a semi-ball, resting her head on my chest and her paws resting between the two of us.

"Alright, let me ask you another question," I said as I wrapped my arm underneath her shoulders, letting my fingers graze her bare arm, "do you ever wonder what'll happen in the future, say…five, ten years down the road?" she shrugged and shifted her head on my chest so she could look up at me.

"Sometimes," she murmured quietly, "I wonder if I'll ever get married and have kids, but other than that…not really. Did you have something in mind, Cooper?" she raised an eyebrow suspiciously and nudged me with her paws.

"Nothing in particular," I said as I glanced down to her, "but, I was just wondering, since we do have a time machine, when this is all over and done with, then we can always zoom ahead a few years and see where you end up, if you'd like."

"I'd like that." She said softly as she curled even tighter and closed her eyes, starting to drift off to sleep. Knowing how hard, and dangerous, it was to wake her up before she was good and ready, I figured I should go ahead and get her inside the van and on her bed mat. We'd have to get up early in the morning so we can start on our trip to Arabia.

"Come on," I said while nudging her awake, "go ahead and get inside and get some sleep." She nodded and we both sat up, stretching before starting to slide off the edge of the van. We'd gotten our legs over the edge of the van, towards the doors, when she leaned over suddenly and grabbed the sides of my face in a kiss. She pulled away before I could really react, she pulled away and smiled.

"Not that I'm complaining," I said with a half smile, "but, why?" she shrugged and moved her bangs.

"Why not?" she asked before leaping to the ground and slipping into the van silently. I smirked to myself and leaped down behind her, entering the van and silently shutting the doors behind me. She had crawled into the mat I was previously on, not that it really mattered considering our mats were nothing more that a few yoga mats, blankets, and two pillows. I stretched out on my side and on the mat closest to the door and closed my eyes, read to sleep. I had just started drifting off to sleep when I felt Ramona grab my arm and wrap it around her, making it wrap underneath her arm and letting my paws rest close to her chest.

"Feeling cozy, are we?" I whispered into her ear. Even in the darkness, I could see her smirk as she glanced back briefly.

"Is that a problem?" I chuckled softly and inhaled the scent of her hair and perfume.

"Not at all." I murmured before drifting off to sleep, pressed against Ramona, feeling her even breathing against my chest and her soft snores entering my ears.


	6. Chapter 6: Time Twister

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Chapter 6 is finally done! And again, sorry for the update delay. This chapter was a little long and the combination of being sick and being completely overloaded with stuff to do, it's taken me a while to get this posted. But it's finally here! I'm also working on location sketches for this story that I'll post to my deviantart account, "RamonaGBandicoot". Aside from those in the process of being drawn, I have a few character sketches and story scenes already posted so please look at those and comment! Other than that, please read and review this and let me know what you think so far. _

Chapter 6: Time Twister

Southern Arabia, 1136 A.D.

My eyes opened slowly as late morning sunlight poured in through the widows of the van, illuminating everything in sunshine yellow. I rolled onto my back, yawning and stretching in the process before finally settling down and staring up at the ceiling. It was sometime in the early morning, probably sometime somewhere around eleven, and we needed to get moving sometime soon. We had already decided to crank up the time machine and move to our next location before morning for two reasons; one, being in the location before we were actually ready to start trekking out would save us the time of starting up the van and then going. Two, we had a slight incident with the local townspeople and them finding our van in its hiding spot. Most fifteenth century men and women had never seen a motorized vehicle, thus drawing attention to ourselves. So now we were in twelfth century Arabia and ready to go ancestor hunting. According to Ramona, we'd be able to find her Arabian ancestor, Sampada Bandicoot, in the local palace. Like the previous two, she was the daughter of the sultan and had her own unique personality. I glanced over to the remaining sleeping forms in the van and sat up. Murray was still sleeping heavily in the front seat and the snoring Ramona was still next to me. She had flipped over onto her stomach sometime in the middle of the night and was buried somewhere underneath her covers. Bentley, however, was awake and was looking over his notes and other snippets of paper.

"So what's the plan for today?" I asked as I stretched again and looked to my teammate.

"Well," he said as Bentley pushed his glasses up his nose, "if we can successfully find both the Bandicoot and Cooper ancestors, we can try to figure out what they all have in common. I've been taking notes on the two we've seen so far," he glanced to a notepad on his wheelchair, "and there aren't that many things in common."

"What have you found out so far? Surely it can't be _that_ hard to figure out." He looked over his notes and shifted his glasses.

"They're Bandicoots." He said simply before sitting back in his chair. My ears perked at the comment; there had to be more things than that.

"That's it?" he nodded quietly, "What about gender?" Bentley shook his head.

"Her father breaks that rule and I'm pretty sure she had a male ancestor sometime in the seventeenth century." I scratched at my hair and thought.

"They have different personalities, so that's ruled out," I spoke more to myself than Bentley, "Breed, they're all raccoons." Granted that probably wasn't the answer to the riddle but I was a start, but Bentley simply shook his head.

"Ramona's the exception," he pointed to the sleeping raccoon and paused to make sure she was truly asleep before whispering, "she's a half-breed." Bentley kept his voice barely above a whisper as he spoke. Half-breed wasn't the most…proper…or even polite term for someone who was a mixed breed. Despite the crude terminology, he was right; her mother was a fox and her father was a raccoon, despite the fact she just happened to look like a full blooded raccoon.

"Then that rules out her brothers and sisters as well," he nodded and I glanced to Ramona, who was still snoozing underneath the mountain of covers, "Do you have anything else?" Bentley shook his head and I groaned silently. Ramona and her family didn't really have anything in common. At least we still had about another six ancestors to meet after this and a little over four days to do so. Hopefully we'd be able to figure out the common thread between them all.

"Well what about that jackal?" I asked eventually, "He has to play a major role in all of this. I'm just not sure what it is. It can't be a coincidence that he happens to show up everywhere we go; he's following for some reason and it's not for the better."

"Then let's put a tracker on him, "we can see where he goes and what he's up to. If he first told Ramona about the curse, he could have been warning her for help, but since he was the one who insisted she was taken to the castle in England, he obviously wants for something or more importantly…someone." He had a point; it seemed that no matter where she went, Ramona always had someone after her. The only problem with that was who it was. She had numerous enemies from various places and they all had various reasons for causing her harm.

"You think he's working for someone?" I rested my back against the side of the van, facing Bentley, while knitting my eyebrows together in thought.

"It's more reasonable than having a stranger going after her. After all, she said she didn't know who he is. Now what are the odds of a total stranger wanting to cause her harm when compared to him working for someone? He's defiantly working for someone, Sly, the question is, who?"

"So do you think this 'curse' is just a distraction for us? To get Ramona's guard focused on that instead of self protection?" he shook his head and fixed his glasses.

"No, there's something going on with her family. Granted I don't think it some sort of witchcraft curse, but there is something that's causing everyone in her family to die before thirty."

"Then…would that be the answer to the 'curse'? Death before thirty? He shook his head again and explained.

"No, because it's mentioned in the riddle, the answer is what causes them to die before thirty. I've done research, and it's not an illness that's caused them to die. For example, Ramona's father and aunt were both murdered in the same fashion, Nefertiti disappeared after she was the wife to the pharaoh, and Katherine was poisoned. There's someone out there who can't stand the Bandicoots and wants them gone."

"Do you think it's the pattern of how they were killed?"

"I doubt it," he paused briefly before continuing, "Katherine was found dead across her bed with a water goblet laced with arsenic on the floor. Nefertiti disappeared and her body was eventually found with the heart cut out."

"These people didn't believe in being subtle, did they? What about her father, how was he killed?" Bentley shrugged.

"I don't know, Ramona's the only one who would be able to tell you and I doubt she would. According to what I have been able to find, it was pretty…gruesome…" he fixed his papers in his lap and shifted his glasses again, "If you want to get to the next ancestor by this afternoon then you'll need to get going in a few minutes. Take this," he said before handing me a small device of some sort, "Go out scouting before getting Ramona up. Put this on that jackal if you find him, it's a tracker. That way I'll be able to monitor his movements while you two get information from you ancestors. Go out before exploring with Ramona, it'll be faster if you go alone and you won't have to worry about Ramona getting caught up in any trouble.

"Good idea," I muttered as I placed the tracker in my bag, "What do I do? Just stick it on the guy?"

"Just be sure it sticks firmly on his clothing or this is all a bust!" he shouted behind me as I jumped out of the back of the van and into the surrounding area. I'd need to find myself a disguise before going after the jackal. I wasn't sure if the guy was even here, but if he was, then I would be able to listen in to see what he was up to. I stuck to the shadows as I ran down the streets of the city. There were people everywhere, shopping at stalls gathering food, clothing, and other various things. I ducked behind a stall and grabbed a quick disguise for myself and I managed to scrounge one up for Ramona. It wasn't much really, a turban, a tan pair of puffy pants and a shirt, but at least I fit in. I still stuck to the shadows as I crept through the city, looking for the mysterious jackal or anything out of the ordinary. People were still walking about shopping or chatting quietly to each other as I passed through the city.

I'd been searching for close to an hour and I hadn't seen anything of interest. That is until I noticed my target duck around a street stall and into a dark alley. I followed behind him silently, keeping a good distance behind him to where he wouldn't see me, but I could still what he was up to. He was muttering something quietly to himself as he strolled down the alley. He was dressed in era appropriate clothing like I was; only he had a simple vest on instead of a shirt. Something told me he was the type of person who liked show off his muscles. He was a rather large man whose muscles were intimidating to a scrawny person. He rounded another corner and I pressed myself against a wall. I inched closer slowly as multiple voices could be heard the closer I got. I strained to listen, but there was a ticking sound accompanied by the voices. I ignored the sound as I kept my back pressed against the wall while slowly inching my way towards the voices even more. I recognized one of the voices as the jackals', but the second voice was a mystery. I stopped moving and kept my eyes glued to the wall next to me. The shadows of the two men could be clearly seen on the tan wall and their voices were clear.

"Look," the rough voice of the jackal rang out over the brief silence, "I'm just doing what I was told to do. You, on the other hand, are just making my job more complicated. I don't know who you are or who even hired you, but stay out of my task."

"Well now you're on my _time_ you little skunk!" the second figure spoke, "This is why you're not in the lead on this! You don't even realize we're here for the same goal made by the same person. You don't even know who I am," of course knowing my luck some sort of loud banging caused me to miss the name of the second person, but I caught the rest of what he said, "…of the time twister machine you see before you. I've been asked to end this little charade with a certain raccoon, so you won't screw this up for me! I swear it!"

The talking stopped and the shadows moved from my sight. I glanced upwards and I noticed a way to the roof of the building I was pressed against. Seeing the chance to snoop even further into their business, I quickly scaled the side of the building and shimmied to the edge. I pulled out my binoccucom after crouching down and looked over the scene in front of me. I spotted the jackal in the middle of the open space, their 'home base' was surrounded on four sides by empty buildings, and the misshapen outline of the mysterious man slunk into the shadows of one of the buildings. I scanned the area, looking at their time machine and the actions of the jackal. I couldn't find an emblem of who was behind this, but they had a rather intricate looking time machine. It was a large, silver disk placed on the ground with a glowing yellow power source in the middle. Connected to the disk, were three 'arms' that extended out, straightened upwards, and curved inwards at the top. A humming sound could be heard from the machine and the arms allowed some sort of portal to this time period to be opened. I hadn't seen any kind of technology like this, granted I wasn't really a techy person, but I figured it was important. I took pictures of the different parts of the time machine before zooming out and taking a shot of the entire thing. I watched the jackal walk around the machine for a while before eventually strolling off. I decided I'd take the pictures back to the van and allow Bentley to look over them while we investigated the area.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I walked up to the doors of the van silently, the doors had been opened due to the heat and Ramona could be seen sitting with her back to the doors, facing the back seats. She had her nose buried in a book in her lap and was completely unaware of my presence; I momentarily forgot about the recon pictures I had taken and of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity to scare my favorite rival. She was close enough to the edge of the van to where I wouldn't have to crawl in to get close to her, making my job easier. I snuck up behind her, keeping my snout close to her ear, and glanced to the book she had in her lap. She had her reading glasses on the edge of her nose, a sign that she was deeply engrossed in her book.

"A book on Sanskrit," I mumbled into her ear with a smirk. She shrieked in surprise and whirled around, smacking me in the side of the head with her book. Unfortunately it was a hardback book and she had a powerful swing.

"Don't do that!" she shouted as she turned to face me, "You know you can't sneak up on me like that!" my head was still ringing and I was dazed a little.

"I've _got_ to remember not to do that when you're reading a hardback book." I grumbled as I sat beside her and tried to regain my vision.

"I didn't hit you that hard, Cooper." She said as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

"No, not really," I said sarcastically, "my eyes are just _vibrating_." She scoffed and closed her book.

"Then you shouldn't have snuck up on me. You're not the one who can play victim, here," She flicked my nose and chuckled, "So where'd you wander off to?"

"Just the usual," I muttered as I rested against the side of the van, "Stopped by and saw my buddies in the black market, watched a goat race, and wrestled a one arm bear with an eye patch, nothing special when you think about it." I gave her one of my signature smiles and she simply stared at me impatiently.

"Cute," she muttered and she took off her glasses and rubbed at the corners of her eyes. I laughed and patted her thigh before explaining.

"I put a tracker on the jackal so Bentley could keep an eye on him; see what he's up to." Her ears perked and she moved her bangs.

"Did you find anything else out?" I nodded and scratched at my face.

"Yeah, he's working for a guy who has a time machine, who's working for another guy who's employing both men."

"Did you find out any names?" I shook my head and she groaned, "Well it's a start. Do we have a plan for today?" I shrugged and took her glasses from her paw.

"Find your ancestor, my ancestor, find out any information about them, any other information on the jackal and his employer, then go to our next location. Pretty much what we've been doing, but we need to figure out a game plan or we won't get anywhere, and you know just as well as I do that we can't waste time."

"I know," she said softly, "Do you have any possible similarities yet?" I nodded, and figured that if I was going to ask her about her father, now would be the time.

"There's one that we're playing around with, but it's not pretty," she nodded, urging me to continue, "From what we've seen and already know every family member in your family have been killed before thirty. But, we're thinking that they've all been…killed. We're wondering if there's a pattern to their deaths, but we need to know how you father died to see if there are any similarities." She nodded and was silent for a while, staring off into the distance and thinking to herself. I knew this wouldn't be easy for her to talk about and I was beginning to think that she wasn't going to explain.

"After my parents divorced, Sitka and I lived with my dad and the other ten lived with my mom and her new husband," she said softly, "the three of us were sitting in the living room, reading a book before bed when they started banging on the door. My dad made us go into the bedroom, lock the door, and crawl underneath the bed. Sitka covered my ears, but I saw the crime scene. I know what they did to him and what they would have done to us if they had found us."

"What'd they do?" I took her paw in my own and squeezed it as she spoke.

"They beat him with a metal baseball bat until his head was split open," she paused briefly, "and until his eye popped out of his skull and rolled underneath our kitchen table."

"Ramona," she shook her head and stopped me in mid-sentence.

"That's not all," she shook her head again and spoke, "then they took a shotgun and shot him twice. Once in the heart and once here," she placed a single finger between my eyes, "half of his skull was blown away and our walls were painted with his brains. They needed dental records to make sure it was him, but even then they weren't sure since most of his teeth had been knocked out by the bat."

"Well," I said after releasing her paw, "that rules out methods of murder." I brushed the bangs from her face and placed her glasses back on her nose.

"You should wear those more often," she furred her eyebrows together and cocked her head, "You look sexier with them on." I winked and nudged her chin with my fist. She shot me another impatient glance but eventually laughed quietly.

"Come on, let's go arm wrestle that one eyed bear with an eye patch." She laughed and followed me out of the van.

"Sure, then we'll go see a goat race and visit your friends in the black market, right?" I turned back to her and laughed along with her.

"As long as I can bet on the brown one." She rolled her eyes with a smile as she smacked me on the back of the head.


	7. Chapter 7: Ancestral Jealousy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well here's chapter 7! Again, I'm really sorry for the delay in the update, but it is finally up! I've been overly busy this month, along with a horrible case of writers' block…so please excuse the cruddy dialogue… so updates have been slow and probably will for a little while. But I am still working on this; it's just going to take a while to update. Anyway, please read and review and let me know what you think. Thanks!_

Chapter 7: Ancestral Jealousy

Southern Arabia, 1136 A.D.

I rolled my eyes and shoved my paws in my pockets as the three of us walked to the local palace. We'd only been out a few hours and I was already ready to go to our next location; feudal Japan. After Ramona and I had left the van in search of our ancestors, it dawned on me that I never actually attached the tracker to the jackal when I went scouting before Ramona left with me. With this in mind, we went back to go find him and plant the tracker before doing anything else. Of course, it took a good hour to find him again and eventually plant it on his outfit. Then after that was out of the way, it took what seemed like forever to find my ancestor. We eventually found Salim Al Kupar stealing from a nearby bazaar and the palace guards. After going through the introductions and trying our best to explain how we had gotten here, he agreed to take us to Sampada Bandicoot, Ramona's Arabian ancestor. Like the past two, she was royalty and the only place we would be able to find her was in the palace. Thankfully Salim had ways of getting inside the palace, considering he had special 'relations' with a certain princess, the same as Galleth and Slytankhmen. So far, the mission hasn't been that bad, but I personally wasn't too happy with the fact that Salim was attempting to put the moves on Ramona. I wasn't one to really get jealous, but he had his own Bandicoot ancestor to woo. Ramona wasn't flirting in return, but it was still annoying. It took us the better part of an hour to make it to the back entrance of the palace and my feet were starting to ache. Salim told us to stay put while he scoped out the area and made sure it was safe before we started out trek indoors.

"Someone's been awfully quiet," Ramona leisurely strolled next to me and bumped her hips against mine to get my attention, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone's jealous." She smirked and I answered her with a scoff.

"I am not," her eyebrow rose suspiciously, "why would I be jealous. You two are simply holding down a conversation and I didn't want to interrupt." She barked a laugh and shook her head.

"Don't give me that, Cooper," during her brief pause, Salim motioned for us to follow him inside. Ramona laughed again and started following Salim inside the castle, but not before walking behind me, raking her claws against my lower back, making me shutter, "You're jealous." She flicked her tail in the air at me and walked inside the palace, swaying her hips in the process, causing her rope to sashay back and forth on her body. I chuckled to myself and followed her inside the highly decorated palace. We stuck to the shadows along the walls, keeping away from the palace guards as we made our way to Sampada's chamber.

"So where's this chamber, exactly?" I whispered after we were sure there weren't any guards around. Salim pointed upward, past the multiple levels of guards and palace officials.

"Up there, away from everyone, inside the shadows." I could just barely see the curtains to the chamber he was talking about and it was quite a climb upwards.

"And how do we get up there, exactly? I _really_ don't want to scale that wall." Ramona's voice rang out through the seemingly empty palace. Ramona's head was pointed almost straight up, looking at the entrance to the chamber and I could already tell she wasn't going to be too fond of the climb upwards due to her fear of heights.

"We do have stairs, Madame." Salim pulled a curtain back from a wall to reveal a small narrow staircase that spiraled upwards, hopefully to the chamber so there wouldn't be too much of a climb upwards.

"…Great." She muttered as I pushed her towards the staircase. It was a narrow staircase, not possible for more than one person to go at a time. Ramona led the way, granted she didn't know where she was going, while I followed her with Salim behind me. We climbed the staircase silently, trying to squeeze through the staircase without getting out outfits stuck to the rough texture of the wall. Despite her attempts to keep going forward, Ramona would occasionally get her dress caught on some part of the wall. She was getting more and more frustrated the further we climbed and the more she got stuck to the wall, but we did eventually make it to the top of the stairs and into the open. Salim led the way towards Sampada's chamber to the right and Ramona and I followed quickly behind him.

After making the trek to the chamber of Sampada, Salim gently tapped on the wall, waiting for a response from the Sultan's daughter. He was answered with silence and by the look on his face, that wasn't supposed to happen. He tapped again and was still answered with silence. He peered in behind the curtains, searching for the female, but came up empty handed. He motioned for us to follow him anyway; I could only assume it was to keep us from getting caught but the local guards. Salim allowed Ramona to enter first, giving her a charming smile as she did so, before I stepped in with my ancestor behind me. My eyes quickly adjusted to the change in light of the room. It was dimly lit, unlike the rest of the palace, and much warmer. The room was highly decorated with hand-made Persian rugs littering the floor, piles of gold trinkets in every corner, and canvas paintings filling up the walls. The room, along with the dim light, had a dark color scheme, mainly reds and deep oranges, giving everything an even warmer feeling. There was a large balcony to the left of the room, a mirror to the right, and a bed of cushions in the middle.

"I'll tell you Ramona," I mutter after stopping beside the thief, "You're ancestors sure knew how to live lavishly." She chuckled quietly and shrugged with a smirk.

"What can I say?" she said as she looked over her shoulder, "We like stuff." I snorted a laugh and shook my head to myself as we traveled to the center of the room.

"So where is this fellow Bandicoot?" Salim absent mindedly stroked his mustache and beard while thinking for an answer with a sigh.

"That is a good question, sir. That is a good question indeed. She's supposed to be in here, her father's orders, but the little sneak as seem to have disappeared. However," he paused and twisted his beard in his fingers, "I have an idea where she is." Ramona opened her mouth to give another comment when she was silenced a soft clank in the distance. Salim, Ramona, and I all stopped and glanced towards the balcony as the clanking of metals could be heard getting closer to the banister. Salim stepped forward and leaned over the balcony, observing what was making the clanking noise. I noticed him reach over the banister and take a brown satchel from what seemed like thin air and toss it into the room. The bag tumbled over three or four times before finally coming to a stop in front of my feet. The top of the bag had come open and a few solid gold items fell out and onto the rug. Salim reached back over the balcony and this time, he was pulling someone over the edge. He let go and stepped back into Sampada's chamber after the hooded figure was safely over the edge of the banister. I back up as the hooded figure stepped into the room and picked up the toppled bag up off the floor and retied the sash at the top.

"It's getting harder and harder to steal from those street vendors, you know." the accented voice rang out from underneath the hood as a petite paw pulled it down. Considering the woman was a raccoon and since Salim allowed her in, I figured the mysterious woman was Ramona's ancestor, Sampada Bandicoot. The Bandicoot ancestor tossed her robe, which was a dark brown almost peasant looking sack, across the room, showing off her royal robes underneath.

"Your father has stepped up patrols around the city," Salim remarked as he rested his elbow on his cane, "because _someone_ has been stealing from people." Sampada rolled her eyes before glancing towards Ramona. She held out a finger in her direction and furred her eyebrows slightly before glancing to the necklace around Ramona's neck.

"You're a Bandicoot," Ramona nodded and her ancestor smiled, "then you can't be seen wearing that." The bubbly raccoon pulled a pile of blue cloth from a chair and tossed it to Ramona before pushing her behind a changing wall. Sampada herself was wrapped in layers upon layers of deep red satin and her long, jet black hair, which had to be darker than Ramona's, was pulled up in a high braid on the top of her head. Her ears were covered in gold earrings, her wrist covered in solid gold bangles, and the only gemstone she wore was the deep blue sapphire that was the Bandicoot's family heirloom. By the looks of the females' room and attire, her father had to be a very wealthy sultan. Sampada sat on the mound of pillows in the middle of the room and glanced up to Salim and myself.

"So what brings you here?" she was very straight forward person, but she seemed to have a unique soft side to her. Especially when you consider that she kept eyeing Salim from the corner of her eye. Well I think it would be safe to say that one thing that just about every Bandicoot had was that they seemed to have some sort of fling with a Cooper.

"Ramona," I pointed to the raccoon who had finally emerged from the changing wall, "had a few questions for you." She glanced to Ramona smiled, pulled her down beside her, and shooed us away.

"Good, now get out and let us talk in peace. Go, go, go." She swung her paws back and forth in an attempt to wave us out. Salim didn't argue, but simple smiled to the two females and showed me the way out.

"Has she always been…pushy?" Salim chuckled and nodded.

"Always," we chatted about our Bandicoot companions before something strange caught my eye; the jackal.

"Now what's he doing here?" I muttered more to myself than Salim. He was sneaking across the walls silently, trying to keep to eth shadows but not really succeeding at it.

"I take it that he's not a friend." I shook my head and kept my eyes on his every move.

"Follow me," Salim muttered quietly, "I think I knew where's he's going. There's an easy path to follow, if you don't mind ledges."

Salim and I stuck to the wall as we snuck along the edge while I kept on eye on the mysterious jackal. He was slowly patrolling the halls of the palace, on the look out for someone or something and armed with some sort of club in his paw. I had a feeling of who he was looking for, but until we figured out where the two Bandicoots had wandered off to, then I needed to keep a close eye on our new found enemy. Salim was ahead of me on the ledge and he quietly ushered me forward the more the jackal moved down the hall. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed us above him despite the amount of hot sun pouring inside the palace, so we had the advantage over him as long as we remained undetected. Things were eerily quiet inside the palace and the only noise came from our silent breathing and the quiet tapping of the jackals' shoes on the uncarpeted floors. He had a scowl on his face and he walked with large steps, an obvious sign he wasn't in a pleasant mood.

"Do you know who this is?" Salim whispered in a voice that was barely audible after we were a few feet behind the man.

"Barely," I replied while keeping an eye on the lurking mammal, "he's been following us for the past day or so. We don't know what he wants." He nodded slowly and absently mindedly stroked his small beard in thought.

"The princess mentioned seeing him lurking around the palace last night." Then he was following us from place to place; this wasn't a coincidence that we kept running into him.

My eyes snapped to the door directly below us. The soft talking of Sampada and Ramona started filling the almost empty hallway. They were talking quietly to each other as I glanced to the jackal. He had turned around to face the females and I could see him smirk when his eyes landed on the Bandicoots. They were unaware of his presence, considering they were going towards the left and the smirking jackal was to the right. He clutched his club tightly and silently made his way to the unsuspecting raccoons. Salim caught on to what he was planning on doing and barked something in Arabic to Sampada. Her head snapped up to make eye contact with Kupar before glancing to the jackal who had already swung his club. Thankfully she ducked in time but it was obvious she was taken back by his actions. Salim had already jumped down by the time he was gearing up for his second swing and I followed soon behind him. My knees briefly shook with the impact of my feet hitting the ground, but that didn't stop me from chasing after the attacking jackal. Ramona started swinging to protect herself from the mans' blows and had managed to knock the club from his paw and away from the mini brawl. It was obvious that Ramona fighting back certainly wasn't doing anything to make his mood better and he was starting to get more violent. Ramona managed to get a few scratches from her now exposed claws across his cheek and eye before he made his final move against her. He used the back side of his paw to strike her across her face with a large amount of force and finally push her halfway across the room with his foot. She slid quickly across the slick floors and landed against the wall. Salim pushed Sampada away from the brawl to check on the dazed Ramona while we took care of the deranged jackal.

Salim and I used our canes to pull him back to us before he had a chance to go after the girls again. He swung at us with arm and fist a few more time before he was able to break free and scamper down the hall. I had to admit, his attacked seemed unplanned and somewhat random. It was obvious that he was going after Ramona for something, but what it was exactly was still unsure. I decided that getting out of the palace would probably be the best thing to do at the moment and get away from the jackal; at least for the moment. Sampada had gotten the still somewhat dazed Ramona to her feet after the brief fight was over and things were quiet again in the palace.

"Are you ok?" I asked Ramona as she wiped a small trace of blood from the corner of her mouth.

"I'll be fine," she grumbled, "but I'll probably have a boot print on my stomach in the morning." She brushed the dirt away from her outfit and kept wiping the corner of her mouth.

"I knew I should have had that man arrested last night." The other Bandicoot muttered as she brushed her braid over her shoulder. Before we could really do anything else with our ancestors, like we had planned, a small swarm of palace guards were making their way to our location. Ramona and I figured that instead of spending the rest of the day in jail, we'd go ahead and get out of the palace and southern Arabian in general. Salim led us through the maze of hallways until we had reached a back entrance to the palace.

"Sly," Ramona muttered as we made out way through the doorway into the streets, "we've gotten nowhere."

"I know Ramona, but you talked to Sampada about her history, right?" she nodded as I continued, "Then you've got some information her. If we can get more information about your other ancestors, then we can see what they have in common. Trust me, we'll figure this out in time." She glanced up to me as we hurried through the streets and back into the van.

"In three and a half days?" I smiled and placed my paw on her shoulder.

"In three and a half days. Trust me, mademoiselle, we leave here, go to Japan, get the information from you ancestor there, go to the next locations, figure out this riddle, and everything will return to normal.

_Again, I had a horrible case of writers block when I wrote this so I'm sorry if it's rushed/cruddy. So hopefully the next chapter will come sooner and be better…*fingers crossed.*_


	8. Chapter 8: The Lady Ninja

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well here's chapter 8! I want to thank 'ForeverFreelancer' for the help with this chapter and this and a large chuck of this story, so thank you! Again, I hope I can update more often, hopefully get this entire thing done by the New Year, I doubt I will but I'll try! Things will start really picking up with this chapter and the rest so the 'limbo' chapters are finally over. Anyway, please read and review and let me know what you think, thanks!_

Chapter 8: The Lady Ninja

Northern Japan, 1339

"Are you coming or not?" I slid to a stop and looked behind me, waiting for Ramona to catch up. After being smashed into a wall by the jackal in Arabia, the impact of her leg against wall bruised the bone…or something…so now she was going at slower place.

"Don't rush me, Cooper!" Ramona snapped as she eventually made her way to where I was standing. We were in the middle of the city, looking for the restaurant owned by her ancestor, Kasumi Bandicoot. It was a rather small town and the buildings were rather close together. Thankfully, despite her injury, the small alleys and darkness of the rainy city kept us in the shadows and away from the local flashlight guards. She rested against the wall of a building and shifted her weight to her uninjured leg. By her groan and expression on her face, she was in pain.

"Your leg hurt?" I asked the simple question, despite the fact I already knew the answer.

"No," she said sarcastically, "I'm leaning against a building, fighting back tears in my eyes because it's a new dance craze!" she snapped and snarled quietly before grumbling to herself. I rolled my eyes and stood across from her.

"I told you that you should have stayed in the van, Ramona. I told you that you'd be slower if you went." She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't give me the 'I told you so' speech, Cooper. You sound like my brother." I chuckled to myself and crossed my arms over my chest.

"What's eating at you, Ramona?" she was no telling what was agitating her, but she surely wasn't afraid to tell.

"My stomach acid," she snapped quickly, "I can feel it eating away at my internal organs, I could eat a village!" she crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal," she glanced up briefly and raised an eyebrow, "I'll drop you off at the noodle shop, let you eat, talk to your ancestor, and then I'll get Murray to stop by to pick you up and take you back to the van. I'll get more information from Rioichi before we pack in for the night."

"…Fine," she muttered as she stood from the building, "but I'm eating first." She pointed a finger and I simply chuckled. Like Murray, Ramona liked her food and wasn't one to mess with when hunger was an issue. I walked with her as she hobbled down the street. She definitely didn't need to be out here trying to pull a job, or sneak around for that matter, and there was no way she could get away if we were caught. If I could get her ancestors noodle shop to get her lunch, I knew she'd be safe while I took care of sneaking around until she could walk properly again. Her ancestor, Kasumi, owned a local noodle shop along with being an extraordinarily good fighter.

We came to a stop on at a corner across from the noodle shop and overlooked the small building. According to family records, Kasumi's noodle shop was just about always busy, unless it was closed, and it seemed to be completely empty. The lights inside were low and the surrounding area was eerily quiet. I wasn't the only one suspicious of the area, Ramona had her eyebrows furred and her eyes were slowly scanning the area, looking for anything suspicious. She had a keen eye for spotting things in almost completely darkness, and sure enough, she noticed something on a nearby roof. I looked to where she was looking and I could barely make out a hooded figured perched on the roof next to the noodle shop. Despite her injury, she pressed herself against the wall, blending into the shadows. I followed in suit and glanced to her with a raised eyebrow.

"We're being watched," she whispered softly, her voice was barely above a whisper and without a trained ear, you wouldn't be able to hear her. Since I was often rivaling her, it was rare to actually watch her serious thieving side. She could blend in with the shadows perfectly and could make her presence virtually unknown.

"I think it's Rioichi," she muttered eventually, "I can see the outline of a tail and a cane." I had excellent eyesight myself, but I couldn't see any of the details she was describing.

"I'm going to go see," I muttered, "get Murray to come and pick you up and I'll see what I can find out," She started to argue back, but sighed instead and complied, "You stay here, I'll call you over the system when I find something out." She nodded and I slinked back into the alley to figure out who the mysterious figure was on the roof.

After leaving Ramona inside the alley, I scaled the nearby building and pulled out my binoccucom to take a look at the figure a few feet away. After zooming in and after finally finding the figure hidden in the shadows of the rainy and quiet town, I jumped from my perch and onto the roof with Rioichi resting at the top. It looked like he was keeping an eye on the noodle shop, the reason why was still unknown to me but I had my guesses. With the past three ancestors we had visited, there had been some sort of romantic relationship between the Cooper's and the Bandicoot's and there was no doubt in my mind that this was the situation here. Whatever the family situation may be, what was curious to me was the question of why he was looking over the noodle house in the first place. If he was there 'keeping guard' and the fact it was unusually quiet and empty in the streets, was starting to raise questions in my mind if something was going wrong. We hadn't seen Ramona's ancestor, which considering the last three if you saw one, meaning a Cooper or Bandicoot, the other wasn't far behind. The fact that we had failed to see the jackal yet was also questionable. Bentley had been keeping tabs on him with the tracking device I had planted on him in Arabia and he was in Japan, we just hadn't seen him yet. Something wrong was going on, but I was still fuzzy on what it was exactly.

I quickly climbed the building my ancestor was hiding on and landed on the roof softly. I had only gotten into a standing position when I quickly had a familiar cane pressed beside my neck. I held up my paws in defense, showing that I was of no threat but a distant relative. My own cane was in one paw and it seemed to get me out of multiple beating from my ancestors. With the threat of Clockwerk constantly plaguing my family, we were a cautious group. Rioichi eyed my cane for a good minute before lowering his own, giving me a nod of approval before glancing back to the noodle shop briefly.

"You are a Cooper, yes?" he pulled his hood down, revealing his face and he clutched his cane tightly, as if he was ready to go on the attack.

"Sly Cooper." I muttered before sticking out my hand. He simply bowed and knelt back to the ground, again keeping his attention on the noodle shop.

"Good," he muttered eventually, "I could use the aid of a Cooper." There was definitely something going on here and I was certain I was about to get dragged into it, "Being a Cooper," he glanced to me as he spoke, "you are familiar with the Bandicoot family, am I correct?" I nodded.

"I have one here, actually," I pointed to where Ramona and I had been standing. Murray had finally arrived and was starting to take Ramona back to the van. He was taking the streets with Ramona piggy backing on his back, her arms around his neck and his hands supporting her knees. She glanced up briefly as she was being carted away and gave a flick of her tail as a sign of acknowledgement.

"She is injured," Rioichi said suddenly, "a leg injury. I can see if Kasumi can help, if we can get her back." His statement caught me by surprise.

"If we can get her back?" I repeated, "What do you mean 'get her back'? Where is she?" he pointed to the silent noodle shop and sighed.

"Someone has taken hold of her shop, with her inside. He is a stranger, a new comer to the town. When he entered this afternoon, it was the first time I had seen him." He spoke slowly, in an almost stereotypical oriental way, but I wasn't one to argue with it. A stranger, I had an idea on who it was, but I didn't want to admit it.

"It's not a jackal, is it?" Rioichi nodded quickly before glancing to me.

"You are familiar with this stranger?" I nodded slowly and groaned to myself.

"Unfortunately," I muttered eventually, "he's been following us for the past two days. He's the reason Ramona has her injury." His eyebrows knitted together in though as he looked back to the noodle shop.

"If he is capable of hurting one Bandicoot, then we must get Kasumi away from him. She is a good fighter, yes, but he is not alone. She cannot take on so many men at one time." He pulled his hood back over his head, covering his face, and motioned me to follow him. I followed him as we leapt from the roof of our building to the roof of the noodle house and eventually the ground.

"Keep to the shadows and remember, silence, is your greatest ally." His way of saying for me to shut up and stay hidden. I nodded and followed him inside the almost pitch black noodle house.

We snuck in through a small window in the tiny kitchen, instantly ducking our heads behind the counter to avoid the gaze of the nearby goon of the jackal. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I glanced behind me to see Rioichi motioning me towards the ceiling to get a better view of the noodle house. We quickly and silent scaled a small ladder to the scaffolding above, used to house extra goods needed to make Kasumi's noodles. We inched to the edge of the wooden platform, lying on our stomachs to glance down to the single room restaurant below. In the center of the room, was a chair, attached to it, was a raccoon. It was no doubt Ramona's ancestor, given the exact facial features of Kasumi matching up with Ramona's. She was restrained in a chair, her paws tied behind the back with a gag in her mouth. She was highly agitated, struggling against her restrains as she growled behind her gag. Walking through the maze of tables and chairs was the jackal, angrily yelling at one of his goons. The goon was nothing more than a skinny rat, trembling in fear as the loud voice of the jackal boomed through the small eating establishment.

"You moron!" the jackal shouted, "That's not the right one! How hard is it for you to find one person? One simple person! But instead of giving me who I want, you give me this…this…abomination of a person!" he pointed to Kasumi, who instantly tensed and her fur bristled. I glanced to Rioichi, and he too had been angered by the comment, "You're costing me my patience. I have three days left to get her to my boss; you have two days to get her to me. If you fail and cost me my job, you'll get it ten times worse from me!" he snapped his paw forward and seized the rat by his scrawny neck, "Get me Ramona Bandicoot," he inched his face closer to the rat before speaking, "and don't make me get her myself!" he threw the rat to the ground and snarled inwardly. The terrified rat scrambled to his feet and scurried out of the restaurant. We watched as the jackal stormed towards the back of the restaurant and we waited until the sound of the back door closed before we jumped from the scaffolding. Rioichi wasted no time scampering to Kasumi, kneeling down in front of her and reaching behind her head, quickly bet gently untying the cloth from her mouth. He pulled it from her mouth, his thumbs briefly running his thumbs across her cheeks, which confirmed my suspicion of some sort of romantic relationship going on between the two. They spoke briefly, saying phrases back and forth in Japanese. I, of course, was lost as to what they were saying and decided to keep an eye out for guards. Not wanting to get caught by the guards, I figured getting out of here as soon as possible was the best thing possible. Rioichi turned to Kasumi's back, working on the thick ropes restraining her wrists to the chair. She glanced to me briefly, bowing her head with a smile before wriggling her wrists in her binds. The three of us stopped suddenly, hearing a sound from the back of the restaurant; goons of the jackal.

"Listen, both of you," Kasumi whispered harshly, "hide yourselves for a moment. Let me get myself free before coming back. There are only a few left now and I can take care of them myself," she glanced to Rioichi before perking her ears and staring the man down, "alone." She said slowly before shooing us away with her snout. Hearing the guards get closer and closer with each second, we backed into a dimly lit corner, waiting for our chance to spring. The four guards, dumber than the rat the jackal had scared, lumbered up to the raccoon and made a loud note of her missing gag. When one reached forward to replace the gag, commotion broke out. Kasumi snapped her snout forward quickly, puncturing the mans' fingers with her teeth. After making a rather loud shout of pain before the Bandicoot ancestor brought her feet up, pounding against the guards' stomach, sending him to the ground. This of course alerted the other three. They rushed forward towards the raccoon, ready to restrain her, only to be brought down as well. She lifted up the chair momentarily before slamming in back down on the foot of a second. She used combinations of kicks and stomps of the chair to take out the second guard. A third guard, coming up behind her, got a rude awakening when she stood with the chair still attached by her paws, her feet were free, and managed to jump, flipping a few times in the air, eventually landing on the man, completely shattering her chair and allowing her thief to be freed. She reach behind her quickly, pulling out two noodle knives and turning her attention to the fourth and final guard. She simply rushed him, pinning him to the counter of her noodle counter in front of the stove, pressing one of the large knives to his neck, growling in the process.

"Let me make this perfectly clear," she said loudly, "get out of my shop and do not return," she leaned closer to him, "or _I_ _will_ kill you!" she growled before letting the terrified guard run from the noodle shop. She slammed the tips of the knives into the cutting board before finally returning her attention back to us.

"Three hours of being held hostage and I'm out a chair and a day of business." She fixed her robes to where they were smooth again and fixed her hair, pulling it into a neatly formed bun. Kasumi was a rather small woman; she was short and rather thin. Like Ramona, she had long black hair and seemed to have a little bit of a temper. It was obvious Ramona learned her fighting skills from this ancestor and those skills were impressive. The woman was dressed in traditional Japanese garb, a long red silk robe with a floral design printed across it with her long hair tied high on her head, a pair of chopsticks, or what appeared to be chopsticks, held it in place. She pulled her infamous family necklace from underneath her robe; the dark blue gem reflecting in the low light of the building.

"Kasumi," Rioichi boasted, "you'll be out stealing tonight, I'm sure you'll get your money back." She smirked briefly before returning her attention to me.

"You are a Cooper," she said with a smile, "It's not every day that someone sees two Cooper's in town, what's the occasion?" she straightened her robe over her stomach softly and finally folder her paws neatly in front of her.

"I'm friends with a family member of yours," I really didn't want to say future family member, waning to avoid the technical side of things, "and she would really like to talk to you." She nodded before cocking her head slightly.

"Then where is she? If she is a Bandicoot, then she would be here. We Bandicoots' are rather curious people." I couldn't help but chuckle at her comment, which was completely true.

"She's at the hideout. She has a bit of an injury and walking really isn't an option right now." She nodded and her lips formed a small 'o'.

"Broken or bruised?" she asked as she started walking to the far end of the counter; bending down and out of sight as the clanking of glass could be heard from behind the long counter. I glanced to Rioichi, wondering if he knew what she was doing, but he simply shrugged, replacing his can in its holster behind his back.

"Bruised," I said after Kasumi reappeared from behind her counter.

"Good, easy fix," She came back beside us with a small case in her grasp as she ushered us towards the door, "Well lead the way, you know where she is, other Cooper, I do not." She gave a soft smile and ushered me out of the door first, expecting me to lead the way back to the van and to the out of commission Ramona. I peered out the door, making sure the coast was clear of anyone suspicious before darting across the street and into the alley. The two other raccoons followed closely behind me, slinking into the shadows of the buildings.

"Are you hiding in the city or on the outskirts, in the woods?" Rioichi's voice rang out from behind me and I glanced back briefly to answer him.

"On the edge of the woods just outside of the city." We slunk against the walls, trying to avoid contact with anyone. I was in the lead with Rioichi directly behind me, followed by Kasumi. We stuck to the walls, cautiously peering over the corners of buildings, looking for the jackal. We weren't sure where he had gone after he left the restaurant, meaning he could be anywhere in this city. We passed by building after building, staying completely silent and out of sight. It wasn't until we had been caught by a local guard and had to finish our trek through the city running for our lives. I wasn't completely sure how we had been caught, but it certainly wasn't a good feeling. Thankfully, despite her long robe, Kasumi was a fast and stealthily runner. She was able to keep up with ease and was almost able to outrun me. The three of us had finally made it to the edge of the town before I pulled a smoke bomb out of my belt and smashed it onto the ground, confusing the guard with a cloud of thick, gray smoke.

"Well that was fun," Kasumi chipped up after we were in the clear. I heard Rioichi laugh at the woman and shake his head. After finishing the trek in almost complete silence, we finally reached the team van. We had it parked in the middle of the nearby woods, out of sight from the city. I saw Bentley sitting outside the van toward the back, typing away at his laptop. The back doors were open and the hood of the van had been lifted up. Murray could be seen working towards the front and Ramona had to be in the van.

"Good you're back," Bentley exclaimed happily once he noticed I had return with both ancestors, "and you brought friends." I barked a laugh and stopped behind him, glancing at the computer screen.

"Where's Ramona? This Ms. Bandicoot said that she can help that Ms. Bandicoot with her leg." Kasumi gave Bentley a smile and a short wave before he answered.

"Inside," he pointed to the van, "she ate about an hour ago and I made her put a heating pad on her leg," with that, Kasumi walked to the edge of the van and sat inside, and it didn't take long for the two females to start chatting, "I hope she can help her leg. I don't think it's broken but she can't walk. If her leg can't be helped a little, then she's going to be out the rest of this mission and it's a bad time for her to be out of business. I've been tracking that jackal since the two of you left this morning. I don't know what he's up to, but he's been staying at Kasumi's noodle shop until about an hour ago."

"We know," Rioichi was the first to respond, "Whoever that man is, he had her tied up for a few hours." Bentley paused in thought and fumbled with his glasses.

"Why did he want her?" he shoved his glasses back up on his face.

"From what he said, he was actually looking for Ramona and one of his goons grabbed her instead. He threatened one of his own men for grabbing the wrong Bandicoot. I don't know what he's up to, but he wants Ramona, and he wants her more than anything." I said as I glanced to the van, briefly seeing the outline of Ramona's ponytail. Ramona was in danger with this jackal, whoever he was, and frankly, I wasn't too sure how much longer we could keep her safe.


	9. Chapter 9: The Twist of the Century

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Here's chapter 9! I'm hoping to have chapter 10 up soon, but I really have no idea. Other than that, I really don't have too much to add…so please read and review and let me know what you think, thanks! _

Chapter 9: The Twist of the Century

Northern Japan, 1339

We had been at the van for a few hours and Kasumi finally emerged from the van. Rioichi and I both looked to the back doors of the van, we had been talking just outside the vehicle, and watched as Kasumi strolled over to us silently. She straightened her robes and neatly folder her paws in front of her as she came to a stop between us. She said nothing, simply standing next to us silently. Frankly, I didn't know if silence was a good or bad thing. Ramona had yet to emerge from the van and I was starting to get worried that this hadn't worked. Given the expression on his face, Rioichi was thinking the same thing I was.

"Did you fix her leg, Kasumi?" Rioichi eventually said after she continued to say nothing.

"Of course I did. It was…how you say…" she turned to me, turning her finger in the air in thought, "Easy peasy….squeeze the lemon." I couldn't help but chuckle at the blemish to her phrase, but it got the point across, "Her leg is not broken, but it is bruised severely. I loosened the muscles in her leg to release some of the pain with a little bit of heat and a few acupuncture needles. I advised her to walk around a little, let her muscles get back to normal. Even though she doesn't hurt now, you have to be careful until that bruise goes away in a week or so. If you put her leg under too much stress, it will give out on her again and the pain will be unbearable." Kasumi's finger was touching my nose as she gently scolded me. I nodded and she removed her finger, smiling in the process and returning to her usual happy self. I thanked the raccoons again and excused myself before heading over to the van to give a quick check in on Ramona.

I rested my shoulder against the door of the team van turned time machine and glanced in at the half-breed resting inside. She glanced up from her task, pulling her long hair into it usual ponytail, and smiled briefly before pulling the knot on her hair. She scooted over to the edge of the van, letting her legs hang over the edge, and looked back up at me with a defeated sigh. She patted the seat next to her, asking me to sit next to her for a conversation. I completed her request, sitting next to the female and waiting for her to say something. She gently rested her head on my shoulder with another sigh before sitting still.

"Well we know one thing that's a common threat with my ancestors." I paused briefly, trying to figure out if she was being serious or not.

"And what would that be, pretty lady?" She rolled her eyes at the all-too-familiar nickname I constantly used on her and continued.

"They're stuck with one of you," She glanced up, poking my chest with a playful smile on her face, "Not that I'm complaining, mind you." She winked and snuggled closer, wrapping her thin arms around my waist. I chuckled softly and did the same, wrapping one arm around her petite form.

"Stuck with us? Mademoiselle, we Cooper's are stuck with you Bandicoot's, not the other way around." She slapped my side playfully and hugged me a little tighter. She sighed again and it was obvious that she was nervous. We were about to enter our third day of this and we weren't any closer to solving this stupid riddle. So far, we hadn't found anything that really linked all of them together besides blood, and we were crunched for time.

"I'm still going to figure it out Ramona, I promise." She shifted her head up my shoulder again, her mismatched eyes staring at me intently.

"I hope so," she said with a sigh while still keeping her gaze on me, "but I don't know how." She shifted her head back down and stared out the open doors of the van.

"I don't know either," I said as I started to run my fingers up and down her side, "but we've gone through tough things before, pretty lady, we can get through this." I kissed the top of her head after my sentence and stopped my paw on her hip. She sat up a moment later, staring at me again and smiling. I stared back, letting a smile creep onto my face as I pulled her bangs from her face, revealing her normally hidden blue eye and tucked the lock of black hair behind her ear.

My paw stayed on her cheek, feeling her nuzzle against my paw softly, her gaze still firmly locked onto mine. Frankly I didn't know why we still had somewhat 'trial' moments, considering the multiple times we had kissed in the past, but I wasn't about to complain about it. Having a serious moment like this with her without interruptions was a rare chance that I wasn't about to pass up. Or at least it was almost without interruptions. Of course her phone had to go off before I had a chance to do anything besides stare at her. To be honest, her phone took my off guard when you consider that there weren't any cell phone towers in fourteenth century Japan. She pulled away from me, taking he phone out of her pocket and glancing at the name on the caller ID; Sitka.

"How do you possibly have cell phone service, Ramona?" she laughed and stood outside of the van.

"Bentley has some sort of transmission signal in the van," she glanced to me, "I've got to take this," she waved her phone towards me before placing it to her ear and starting off a conversation in a language that I couldn't understand, probably to keep me from overhearing what her brother had to say.

I chuckled at the antics of the raccoon as she started strolling around the area, occasionally replying to her brother. She could finally walk, despite the fact she had a nasty limp. I glanced inside the van and grabbed the hour glass given to her by the jackal. I looked at the sand pouring through the glass and Ramona was right, we were really pressed for time. The sand was almost halfway in the bottom and we still had another four or five ancestors to visit by the end of the week. I set it down again, not wanting to push any sand towards the bottom faster than it was going, and standing myself, stretching my limbs before setting off to find and talk to Bentley. I needed to discuss what the jackal had said about wanting Ramona and try to figure out what we were going to do about him. For now, he was our biggest threat to this entire ordeal. I was afraid that if he got a hold of Ramona, then there would be no way that we could possibly solve this riddle before our five days were up. However, I didn't know how long we could keep her safe. After all, she was injured because of my lack to defend her in Arabia. If I could even keep her from getting a bruise on her leg, how was I supposed to keep her safe from a deranged jackal and his pack of meathead goons? Then to add to my uncertainty of this jackal, I knew almost nothing about him. I didn't even know the man's name, he was just 'the jackal', let alone anything important concerning our current situation. Hopefully, Bentley's research can find something out about the guy.

I trotted down the slight hill the van was parked on and soon met up with Bentley. The genius was seated in his wheelchair, starting at the laptop perched on it. He glanced up briefly and motioned me over with his hand; hopefully he had found something interesting or helpful. I came up behind him, glancing to the screen he had pulled up. It looked like an aerial of the world, completely computerized and soft beeps were coming from the computer. There was a small radar circle in the bottom of the screen, going in a circle, searching for something in particular. There were multiple strands of numbers at the top of the screen, changing every few minutes as the radar scan reached to top of the circle.

"What are you looking for?" I asked after a while. Bentley perched his glasses high on her nose and spoke.

"Our jackal friend," he typed a few strands of numbers on the keyboard and stared at the screen, "It seems that he's left Japan; now we have to figure where he's gone to. Not only do we have to figure out where, but what year. I've managed to scan the entire world, going year by year. With that tracker you planted on him, we should be able to find him. I started roughly ten thousand B.C. and I'm up to sixteen hundred."

"Are you going to be able to find him?" he nodded and fixed his glasses again.

"With this machine, we'll find him in no time. The only thing is, it can't give us anything about the man." I nodded and sat on the ground next to him.

"Do we even have a name for him?" Bentley simply shook his head and glanced to the computer screen. The year had only moved up two dates, at least it was a thorough search.

"No, but from what you've told me about the guy, I can start piecing a few things together," I nodded for him to continue and he did, "It's obvious that he's not the one in charge in this entire thing, but he is relatively high up. The fact that he has people working for him, gives him power, but since he works for someone else, he's being pressured to get a hold on Ramona. That's why he's getting meaner and meaner and why he's getting more violent. He's getting pressured from his boss to get his hands on Ramona. Granted, we still don't know what he wants her for, but we know that he wants her for her boss."

"If we can figure out who his boss is, then we might be able to figure out a motive, but how do we find the boss?" Bentley shrugged as a reply and glanced to the computer screen again. He went on the alert and started at the computer.

"We found him." He said simply. I jumped up myself, keeping my eyes on the screen. There was a blinking red dot to the left of the screen, off the coast of the Caribbean islands.

"Looks like we're going sailing," Bentley said after shutting the laptop. We chatted a little while longer before I figured that talking to Rioichi might be a good idea. Given the fact that both he and Kasumi were ninjas, they were incredibly wise; they could give me advice on what to do about this jackal.

I stood, saying goodbye to Bentley before setting off to find Rioichi and Kasumi. They had waltzed off together after I started talking to Ramona and they were somewhere around in the area. I trekked back up the small hill and past the van and Ramona, who was still rambling on her phone. I spotted the two raccoons on the opposite side of the hill, talking quietly to each other in Japanese. Deciding not to interrupt their conversation, I watched them briefly. It was strikingly obvious that there was something between the two other than a fight for customers. Granted I had no idea if it was anything truly romantic, but there was something going on between this combination of Cooper's and Bandicoot's. My attention was pulled away from our ancestors, and their attention was pulled away from each other, when a shout from Ramona and a loud crash could be heard. I rushed over to the van where Ramona had been, making sure that none of the jackals' goons had tried to take her. The shout emitted from Ramona wasn't one of fear or pain, but one of anger. By the time I reached the doors of the van, Ramona had already stormed down the hill and was seated beside the nearby stream. She had a paw full of rocks and I briefly watched as she threw them in the rushing river. I glanced into the van, realized what the sound of the crash was. Ramona had thrown her phone inside the van, hitting the metal walls with enough force to smash the screen on the phone and snap the back off it. Everyone was silent with her random outburst. We had no idea what had triggered her sudden rage and given her tendency to hold onto anger, we really weren't sure if her outburst was over yet. I made my way towards the flustered raccoon and placed a paw on her shoulder. She gave a low growl and chucked another tock into the water.

"Don't you just love it life gives you a twist?" she snapped, "Because I'm just thrilled to the core." The fur on her tail and arms were sticking up and each breath she exhaled was a growl.

"What happened?" I asked quietly, not wanting to anger her further. She hurled another rock into the river before finally taking a deep breath and calming down a little. She pulled herself to her feet and started pacing down the length of the river.

"When I was a kid," she said as she turned to start walking the other way, "I thought that my mom had really screw me over, but boy…everything bad I thought she did, has just been outdone. We know she cheated at least four times; that's where Crash and all the other bandicoots came from. But she didn't cheat at least four times, Sly. It was at least five."

"Meaning?" my eyebrows knitted together, trying to figure out where she was going with this.

"She cheated on my dad right before she got pregnant…with me. My dad might not be my dad. There's a chance that I'm not a Bandicoot." Of course we couldn't get through anything without a twist being thrown into it. I know that had to completely crush Ramona; her dad was everything to her. Not only as a parental figure, but as a mentor, a best friend, and one of the few people she could actually trust; at least before he died.

"Ramona," I said after standing myself, "I'm sure that no matter who your real dad is, he loved you and I know your brothers and sister do to. You'll always be a Bandicoot, no matter what DNA tests say."

"I know," she sighed before shaking her head fast and continuing, "but don't you see the trouble in this? We might be going after the wrong family in order to solve this curse. If I'm not a Bandicoot, then we're chasing the wrong family. Then we've wasted two days talking to the wrong people. If I'm not a Bandicoot, then I'm so screwed in three days!" she was right, if she wasn't a real Bandicoot, then she really was doomed in three days.

"Well if you weren't a Bandicoot, then you wouldn't have been cursed to begin with. You would have been left alone to carry on your normal, everyday life." Despite my argument, she shook her head.

"If people think I'm a Bandicoot, then I still would be cursed, no matter who my father was."

"If you're not then the curse won't affect you, It'll pass over you." She shook her head and huffed in frustration.

"Sly, this whole curse isn't dropping dead," she flung her arms apart dramatically to show emphasis, "Every female in the Bandicoot family has been murdered. If whoever this jackal is thinks I'm a Bandicoot because his boss tells him I am, then I'm no exception. If we don't figure out what my family as in common then I will be dead by Friday. And if my family isn't the Bandicoot family, then we've been wasting our time."

"Ramona," I said as I stopped her from walking, placing my paws on her shoulders, "if you weren't a Bandicoot, then you wouldn't look like _your_ ancestors. They wouldn't come to us and say 'You're a Bandicoot'. They'd look at you and try to figure out what planet you came from."

"Sly," she said softly, "All raccoons look the same; you know that. The only thing that could possibly identify me as a Bandicoot is this stupid necklace," she held it up briefly before letting it drop back onto her neck, "It's been passed down, but if my dad thought he was my father and he wasn't, then he gave it to a non-Bandicoot. Other than that, I'm just another face."

"If you're determined that you're not completely sure, then we'll have Bentley do a DNA test with your father and then we'll prove that you are a Bandicoot."

"We don't have time, Sly!" she pulled away and pulled at her hair, "And it's not like we can ask my mom." I stayed silent, not really sure how to respond. Both of her parents were dead and we were crunched for time.

"We'll figure it out Ramona." I said as I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her small shoulders and keeping her in a tight hug. She hugged my back briefly before letting go and heading back to the van. I followed behind her, shaking my head as she crawled into the back of the van, shutting the doors behind her.

"I swear," I muttered to myself, "she is so stubborn." She was a Bandicoot, no doubt about it…although this new information did start throwing some doubt into the situation.

"You know," Rioichi's voice startled me as I turned to face my ninja ancestor, "there is an ancient Chinese story that would help you with your problem."

"A Chinese story?" I figured it would have been Japanese, but whatever works.

"Yes, Chinese. Before Chine was rule under the first ruler, Emperor Shi Huangdi, there were five warring states that made up China. They provinces always fought each other, leaving the country battle worn and harsh. Before he was the emperor, Shi Huangdi grew up with four brothers, and the five boys always fought, just like the warring states. One day, their mother was tired of the fighting, and gave each of them an arrow," I listened, despite the fact I had no idea where he was going with this or how that would help with Ramona, "She told each boy to try and break their arrow. They broke them with ease. Then, she tied five bows together tightly, and handed the bundle and told them to try and break it. No matter how hard they tried, the arrow bundle would not break. She told her sons, that if they fought against each other, then they were as weak as an individual arrow, and would be broken. However, if they combined together like the bundle, they would never be broken. Emperor Shi Huangdi united the five providences together to make one China. My point being, no matter how stubborn Ramona might be, if you can find a way to untie the differences between the Cooper's and the Bandicoot's, then nothing can break you, not matter how horrible a situation is," by this time, Kasumi had walked beside Rioichi with her case in her grasp, "It has been a pleasure," Rioichi continued, "but it is late, and we must return to the city." I nodded the ancestors each gave a bow before turning and darting through the woods.

I waited until Rioichi and Kasumi were out of sight before opening the doors of the van and crawling inside. When I opened the doors, Ramona was already in her spot, with her back to the door. It seemed that Bentley and Murray and turned out their lights a while ago and I was the only one still awake. I crawled into my sleeping bag and glanced to Ramona, checking to see if she was still awake. She was, of course, quietly staring at the ground with a look of depression on her face. I couldn't go to sleep knowing how depressed the girl was, especially the fact she was facing me and would be staring me down all night, so I needed a way to get her mind off our recent situation, even if it was just for the night.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her after a while.

"What?" she asked with a depressed sound to her voice.

"Why do you think jousting stopped?" sure it was a stupid question, but it would at least get her mind off things.

"…What?" she knitted her eyebrows together and somewhat cocked her head.

"Jousting, it just stopped; no one does it anymore. Why doesn't anyone joust anymore?"

"Well why do _you_ think jousting stopped, Sly?" it seemed like it was working. A smile was starting to form on her lips and was replacing the gloomy frown that was once there.

"Well, I think that two knights got mad at each other and started calling each other names. Like Sir…Mutton-head…and eventually challenged each other to a joust."

"…Alright…" she said slowly, trying to figure out where I was going with it.

"So the two knights get on their horses and start charging at each other. Then one knight pulls down that big…saber, lance…thing and keeps going for the other knight. But then just as they're about to crash the other guy pulls out a gun and just shoots the second knight. Then everyone else was like... 'Yeah, that's a lot faster'. So now they use guns when they want to kill each other."

"Sly, jousting stopped when shrapnel from a lance shot off and impaled the king through the eye. Then after he sat for three days in pain and agony and it was until he was fighting off a horrible infection that he did finally kicked the bucket that they banned jousting tournaments," despite her answer to me ridiculous question, a smile spread across her face, "but I think I like your reasoning better." She let out a quiet laugh, careful not to disturb Bentley or Murray, and pulled my paw underneath her chin before settling down again.

"I promise Ramona, we'll make this work out in the end." She smiled one last time before releasing my hand and scooting closer to my chest, snuggling underneath my chin and curling into a ball. Eventually, her small breaths hit against my chest and I rested my paw on her waist, letting it rise and fall slowly, moving in time with her calm breathing.


	10. Chapter 10: High Seas Hi-Jinks

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Sorry for the update delay, after having to send my grandmother to the hospital in horrible conditions, I haven't had time to sit down and write. But, I did finally have a small window of opportunity to get this written, so I apologize in advance if it seems a little rushed. My grandmother is doing better so I hope that my next chapter won't seem as rushed…or cruddy. Anyway, let me know what you think, thanks!_

Chapter 10: High Seas Hi-Jinks

Caribbean Islands, 1616

Cold, salty sea water splashed against my face, the ever familiar noise of seagulls squawking filled my ears…and the sounds of Ramona hurling her breakfast over the side of the boat ruined the moment of authentic pirating. Apparently, she didn't know she was prone to sea sickness, and I was the one holding her hair back as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the sea below. We had only been on the open sea a few minutes before she went running for the starboard side of the boat, gut wrenching noises erupting from her as half digested teriyaki noodles fell into the ocean below. She eventually stopped gasping up the remainder of her dinner and relaxed, letting the top half of her body hang over the edge of the boat incase another bout of heaves started up again. I let go of her hair, letting it fall loosely down her back and wiped my paw against the pants of my pirate disguise.

"Landlubber," Henriette's voice muttered as she came to a stop beside the vomiting raccoon. She shook her head with a chuckle and sipped at the goblet in her paws. The aroma of rum filled my nose and I realized it was being emitted from Henriette's goblet. Being on a ship for a majority of the time, fresh water runs out soon, leaving only rum and assorted booze. My ancestor placed down her goblet and glanced up to the crows nest, shouting as she did.

"First mate Jones," she shouted to the man at the highest point of the ship, "Any sign of the Bandicoot ship?" the tired sea dog peered over the edge of the crows nest with a telescope in his grasp.

"No Capt'n! The only ships that be out in the open blue are merchant ships! Not another pirate in sight!" Henriette glanced out over the sea with her one good eye briefly before looking back up to the crew member.

"Sound the alarm when you spot her! We need all hands on deck when she appears!"

"Aye Capt'n!" the dog looked back through the telescope, scanning the seas for the Bandicoot ship. When we arrived in the Caribbean, Henriette was getting ready to set sail with her crew. After noticing that I was a fellow Cooper, she allowed Ramona and I access onto her ship. The Bandicoot's had already set sail by the time we had gotten there. Seeing that finding Ramona's two pirate ancestors was more important than bonding with mine, and the fact Henriette had a bone to pick with one of the Bandicoot's, she had agreed to help us find their ship out on the open sea. However, merchant ships and smaller ships were the only thing out on our section of water; the Bandicoot pirate ship was no where in sight. Ramona finally pulled herself away from the edge of the ship and groggily strolled next to me. She groaned silently and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Anything new to report?" she glanced up and fixed the large hat placed on her head. Just like everywhere else, we figured being in disguise was a good idea. My outfit was rather simply, extremely similar to the one I had in Blood Bath Bay a few years back. Ramona's was a little more complex, considering there weren't that many female pirates, so finding a shirt that looked authentic that actually fit was a bit of a challenge. But eventually, we found her an outfit that worked and made her fit in with Henriette and her pirate crew.

"Well, we haven't found out anything new," She gripped her necklace as she thought silently, absent mindedly gnawing at the gold chair the pendant was attached to, "Other than you get seasick." I chuckled softly and nudged her shoulder playfully, only to have her glare as a response.

"Funny, Cooper." She crossed her arms across her chest and waltzed away, her tail flicking back and forth in the process. After Ramona had reached the helm of the boat, Henriette stopped a few feet away from me, pulling out a telescope and scanned the ocean with her one good eye.

"They're out there somewhere…but I don't know where." She muttered more to herself than to me as she continued to scan the seas. She shook her head softly and closed her telescope before flipping up her bejeweled eye patch, revealing her non existent eye socket, let alone her eye. She scratched at the solid spot of skin and scratched before pulling it back over where her eye would be.

"They are definitely out there, Mr. Cooper, but I can't seem to find them…unless they're sailing under a different sail as a disguise. Which they've done in the past, although there is no telling what sail. The Bandicoot's are a sneaky group…but they're good at what they do." Henriette continued to scan her eye over the waters and eventually, another ship started coming closer to Henriette's. The pirate, alarmed by the sudden appearance of this ship, placed a paw on her sword, ready to pull it out if necessary. Instead of firing, like I thought the ship would, the crew members simply held up their arms, asking for peaceful negotiations. It was obvious that Henriette was skeptical of the ships mysterious crew, but decided to speak with the highest ranking member of the crew, other than the captain.

"Our capt'n fell overboard a few miles back!" Henriette tapped her nails on the end of her sword, her jaw cocked in thought as she stared at the seemingly distressed crew.

"Who is yer capt'n?" the one-eyed pirate shouted over the short distance between the two ships.

"Capt'n Rodriquez of Spain! He fell overboard when the currents started whirling!" Henriette nodded, signaling to a group of her crew members, who started hustling around the ship.

"What's happening?" I felt Ramona's paw touch my back as she stood next to me.

"Apparently their captain fell overboard." Ramona's looked became questioned as she watched the pirates move about quickly, linking the two ships with boards.

"Well what good is it now? If the captain fell overboard, they won't be able to find him. The currents around here are too strong for any type of rescue to be possible and I'm certain that if that did happen, they wouldn't ask to find the captain, the highest in command would take charge, they'd become the new captain."

"So why would they be alerting Henriette about it?" Ramona shrugged and watched the pirates, including Henriette hike over to the other boat via the boards.

"I don't know" she paused and glanced around the boat, "…unless it's a decoy." She pointed with her nose towards the captains' quarters on the upper section of the stern. I looked to where Ramona had motioned and I noticed a 'false' captain emerge from the quarters. From a distance, the woman appeared to be Henriette, but considering the fact she just crossed onto the other ship, it wasn't her. The pirate hat was pulled far enough over her face to keep it hidden from the few remaining crew members on board the ship.

"Did you ancestors ever have a habit of impersonating other pirates?" Ramona glanced up, looking around in thought before shrugging her shoulders.

"It's possible, I guess." She and I both watched the new captain make her way to the helm of the ship, tracing a finger over a handle on the wheel.

The woman cocked her head slightly, glancing to another mysterious crew member leaning against a web of ropes attached to the main mast. He nodded quickly and gripped one of the ropes tightly. At first, I wasn't completely sure what they were planning, until it happened. The female at the helm violently turned the wheel, causing the ship to turn sharply to the left. With the sudden shift of the boat, everything onboard, including the crew members, slid across the top deck of the boat. I used my cane to latch onto a rope to keep from sliding, along with quickly grabbing Ramona by her hip to keep her from sliding to the other side of the ship. Both of our feet lost traction on the wooden boards of the ship and it didn't take long for us to strain to keep from sliding to the other side. I felt Ramona's claws sink into my skin, going deep enough to draw blood as the ship continued to lean to the left. The sound of the boarding planks hitting the water and the rather angry shouted from the opposite boat, obviously Henriette's, roared over the ocean waves. By now, it had clicked in my mind that she had been outsmarted by the Bandicoot twins of the time era. I finally released the ropes, along with Ramona, once the ship finally leveled out, sailing north on the sea. Henriette's ship, now over taken by two Bandicoots, was quickly being pursued by the Bandicoot's original ship, now under the control of Henriette.

According to what previous information Ramona had given me before we boarded, Carmen and Pedro Bandicoot were two of the smartest sea thieves of their time, and also some of the most feared. Pedro, the man who had nodded to the female at the helm, was a suave and cocky man who could charm his way through just about anything. But if you crossed him, your fate was sealed through the end of his sword, which is why I could only assume Henriette's remaining crew refused to fight against the new captain. His sister, Carmen, was somewhat similar to her brother. Apparently, she used her good looks and charm to get men in…compromising…positions before robbing them blind and stealing their ships along with the crew.

"Senorita!" Pedro shouted to Henriette, who was still stuck on the other ship, "Buenos días! I thank you for the new ship, I greatly appreciate it!" his accent was a thick Spanish one, obvious of his origins. A smile was plastered across his face as he placed his fingers to his lips and eventually pulling them away, giving the angered raccoon on the opposite ship an air blown kiss.

"I don't know what you see in her Pedro," Carmen's thick accent came from the helm of the ship, "Ella es boba." She chuckled as she snapped her fingers before pointing to the ship's wheel, signaling for a crew member to take the wheel. Ramona and I both watched as the raccoon made her way to the main deck, discarding her disguise off the edge of the boat. She fixed the shirt she had on underneath her disguise so the top ruffle rested on her shoulders, showing off a good portion of her chest and shoulders. She had what I could only assume as part of a corset, around her waist, showing off her thin frame. Pedro's outfit was similar to mine, a simple shirt, pants, and boots.

"What did she say?" I whispered into Ramona's ear. I spoke very little Spanish, so figuring out what either of them said was almost impossible for me.

"She's dumb," Ramona said simply as glanced out to the sea, searching for Henriette and the pursuing ship, "and according to what I've read, ship swapping was a common game between the two." She motioned to Henriette and Pedro. Like the rest of our ancestors, there was something romantic going on between our families. I noticed Pedro had glanced over to us, furring his eyebrows as he approached us. He paw was firmly placed on the handle of his sword, ready to strike if needed.

"Senorita," he said as he approached us slowly, "quien eres?" he stopped in front of Ramona, keeping an eye on her until she answered. She stated her name and all I could do was listen as the two carried on a fast paced conversation in Spanish. As the two chatted, I noticed Carmen had approached as well, stopping next to me. She brushed her hair from her face, which was surprisingly brown instead of black, and looked me up and down. Her dark brown eyes stopped on my face as a smile came to her lips.

"Guapo," she said with a wink. Not knowing what she said, I smiled in return, hoping that would be a correct response to her statement. Thankfully, I wasn't smacked with her sword so I could only assume I had responded correctly. I noticed the Bandicoot family necklace hanging from her neck, reflecting in the sunlight. A small purr came from her throat as she winked again, making me feel a little uneasy. Sure, I was never one to turn down a pretty woman, but the fact I knew how she tricked men, kept me at bay…that and the fact Ramona would probably rip my throat open if she thought anything was going on. The conversation eventually died off between Pedro and Ramona, apparently ending in good terms. I watched as Pedro stepped away from our small group to pull out his own telescope. He pulled open the golden device and peered through, chuckling as he did so.

"That Cooper sure is a persistent one." He muttered as he put his telescope away and walked to the port side of the ship, waiting for the flustered Henriette to return to her ship. The original Bandicoot ship had finally caught up to ours and Henriette, along with the rest of her crew, got ready to board back onto their home ship.

"Don't look now," Ramona whispered into my ear, "but it looks like someone's keeping their eye on you." She motioned to Carmen as she nudged my arm with a smile.

"What can I say, Mademoiselle," I chuckled, "I turn heads." She chuckled to herself and grabbed my collar, pulling my face towards her.

"I swear if you try pulling anything I'll throw you over this boat." She released my collar and fixed it quickly. She shot me a kind smile and turned to walk to the other end of the boat, her hips swaying in the process. I chuckled to myself, watching the somewhat jealous raccoon stroll across the ship. I jumped when I felt a paw slide up my back and it only took me a moment to figure out who it was. Carmen giggled to herself as her head rested on my arm, her eyes glancing up towards my face. I laughed nervously, slowly pulling away from the raccoon, knowing that the last thing I wanted to do was cause tension between the two females. My attention was turned to Pedro, who was dodging swipes from Henriette's sword. My ancestor had finally made her way to the ship, her sword drawn and was ready to slice it into the Spanish speaking raccoon. He simply chuckled dodging her swings and eventually pulled out his own sword to fight off the flustered pirate. With a simple swipe, he drove the blade of her sword into the woodwork of the ship, leaving it stuck in the molding.

"You know how to handle a sword, Senorita." He gave her a wide smile and replaced his sword on his belt. Henriette rolled her eyes, a small smile on her lips. It was obvious that she and Pedro had a form of romantic relationship, despite the small hostilities.

"I know how to handle a sword." Carmen accented voice purred in my ear and I felt her pinch at my lower back. I jumped at her touch, trying to escape her sudden advances. I noticed Ramona starting me down, her ears flattened against her skull and a look of hare emitting from her facial expression. I shook my head quickly, trying to make her understand that I wasn't the one showing signs of trying to advance on her ancestor. Her eyes narrowed, shooting me daggers as she gave me a silent gesture. She pointed towards her eyes with two fingers before pointing to me with the same two. She finished it off by putting a finger to her throat and sliding it across her neck. I shook my head at her again and quickly made my way to her, wanting to get there before she did anything drastic.

"Didn't I just warn you about going after my ancestor?" she growled softly, trying to avoid causing a scene…yet.

"It's not me!" I whispered back, "She's the one who's doing the groping and sexual comments." She growled softly and her tail flicked strongly behind her, showing off her anger.

"Besides, you shouldn't be getting mad. Remember Arabia, how I got jealous of you and Salim…now you're jealous of Carmen. You're being a hypocrite, Ramona. So why don't we just forget these incidents and figure out this curse."

"I'm not jealous!" she hissed, "I just find it inappropriate for you to go after someone who's been dead a hundred times more than they've been alive." She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"You are very jealous, Ramona." she opened her mouth to say something, more than likely a rebuttal to my statement, when her gaze shifted to something on the open seas behind me. Her anger subsided, and was replaced with a cocked head and a raised eyebrow.

"Give me your binoccucom," she said softly, "…now." She held out her paw, waiting for me to place my binoccucom into her grasp as she kept her gaze on the ocean. I placed the device in her grasp and turned to look out onto the sea. I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary, other than a ship a good ways away.

"What?" I asked as she looked through the glorified binoculars. She looked through the binoccucom for a few minutes before handing me the device. I place it to my eyes, scanning the ocean to figure out what had her stopped in her tracks. I looked over the newly spotted ship, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I zoomed in, noticing a figure on the deck of the boat ahead. I felt my stomach flip into knots when I recognized the sword wielding man on the ship that was heading full steam ahead towards us; the jackal.


	11. Chapter 11: Cannons and Swords

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Again, I'm sorry for the delay, but my grandmother is still very sick, in fact she's gotten worse, and it's taken me a while to get this written. So if this seems rushed, I'm sorry. I've just been stressed but I did want to get this updated. Anyway, please read and let me know what you think! Thanks! _

Chapter 11: Cannons and Swords

Caribbean Islands, 1616

"Quick, go tell Henriette and Pedro he's coming and get them to turn the ship. The last thing we need is a sea fight with him." I pushed Ramona away quickly while I watched through my binoccucom as the jackals' ship got closer and closer to ours. Ramona's footsteps fluttered away while her boots impacted the wooden deck of the ship while I continued to watch our mysterious enemy. I could see him standing at the bow of his ship; a sword gripped firmly in his paw and a smug smirk spread across his face. I could already tell that we had one of two options; get on our boats and run away…or stay and fight with cannons, swords, and sheer luck. I shoved my binoccucom back into my leg pouch and noticed Henriette was already on the deck next to her, her telescope extended to its fullest length and placed up to her one good eye.

"I saw him at port early this mornin'," she said after bringing her telescope down, "he was sneaking around the shipyard, looking for a ship. I had a feeling he was a sneaky one." The jackal's ship was inching closer and closer to ours and if we didn't move soon, he'd be too close for us to run away.

"He was also in the tavern last night," Pedro's thick accent purred behind Henriette's, "said he was looking for a crew."

"Was he successful?" I asked, glancing to the Spanish accented raccoon. He nodded silently and squinted at our approaching enemy.

"More than when we have." I jumped as, once again, Carmen's paw slid up my back and the accented words from her tongue rolled in my ear.

"Carmen!" Pedro's voice barked at his sister while his eyes met me with a glare. I gave Carmen and Pedro a wary smile as her paw slid off my back. She gave a quiet giggle before standing next to her brother, peering out to the jackal.

"Vamos!" Carmen pulled at Pedro's shirt and pulled him towards their ship. The two Bandicoot's quickly signaled to their crew members to put the crossing boards in place so they could cross to the helm of their ship. While they crossed, Henriette made her way to the wheel while I trotted down the few stairs to the main deck, meeting Ramona near the side of the ship. She watched the jackal like a hawk, nervously biting at her finger nails as the ship inched closer to ours.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," she muttered softly, he eyes glued to the approaching ship.

"It'll be fine," I said in an attempt to ease the nerve-wracked raccoon, "Once Henriette and Pedro get at an angle and catch the wind, we'll be in the clear. Trust me, I've gone sailing before." I patted her should and briefly thought back to the incident with Captain Lefwee in Blood Bath Bay a few years ago. Henriette stated turning the wheel of the boat, causing it to start sailing to the left of the enemy ship. Pedro did the same, only he went in the opposite direction. To me, it looked like they had planned on lining up with the jackals' ship and blow the sides out of the wooden vessel.

However, the jackal had caught wind of what they were doing and was one step ahead. He ordered for one of the cannons on the bow of the ship to be fired, shooting off two small cannon balls, connected with a chain, from the cannon. He aimed it high and it didn't take long for the shrapnel to hit the main mast of the ship. The mast fell quickly and shards of wood splintered off in all directions. With the main mast down, our ship was immobile. Another few shots were fired and two or three holes were impacted into the upper deck of the Bandicoot ship and their main mast was down as well. Whoever this man was…he knew how to attack. With our ships unable to move, the jackal moved in himself. He stopped his ship evenly distanced between ours before dispersing his crew. Have coming to the Cooper ship and half going to the Bandicoot ship; with the jackal himself coming straight for us. It didn't take long for his feet to impact the boards of our ship and start hacking his way through the crew members. Thankfully, the small mob of riled crew member gave us a little bit of cover, enough to give me a few seconds to push Ramona down below deck. After telling her to hide behind something down below, I turned my attention to the jackal. He had his sword drawn ready to attack. I didn't have a sword to fight back with, but I did have my cane. If I could get him to the side of the boat, I might be able to knock him overboard and away from us. I held my cane up in defense as he brought his sword up to swing it into my skull. I couldn't completely fight back, but I could block and keep away from the man. I started slowly backing up, edging my way to the edge of the ship. I ducked and weaved to stand clear of the swings from our attacker. I managed to dodge one last swing of his sword before using my cane to swing him ahead of me, sending the man over the edge of the ship. I knew it wouldn't be long before he managed to make his way back onto the ship, but it bought me time to keep Ramona in the shadows.

I jumped down into the cargo hold of the ship; searching for the hidden Ramona and hearing the commotion above us start to die down. I eventually found Ramona hiding behind a few barrels of rum. I ducked beside her, telling her to keep silent and wait until everything was calm again. Everything was silent, the only sound coming from the waves crashing outside the ship. Ramona and I sat with our knees pulled to our chins, crammed behind barrels in an attempt to hide from the jackal and his boss. I felt Ramona tense as two sets of footsteps pounded against the wooden boards of the ship. I could hear them starting getting closer to our barrels and I could only pray that they wouldn't figure out our hiding spot. The footsteps stopped a few moments later and the light from the top hatch let in a little bit of sunlight, distorting the shadows of the two figures on the wall ahead of us. I could see Ramona keeping her gaze on the shadows of the two men, staring at them as if she was trying to figure out who they were; which was probably what was going through her head as she cowered behind a barrel.

"How hard is it to catch one person?" the second figure stated. His voice was vastly different from that of the jackals'; it actually seemed meaner and more vicious.

"She's not alone," she jackal replied with a sneer, "It's not that easy to catch her when you've got that meddling raccoon watching over her day and night."

"Well," the second voice became closer, just above our hiding spots, "haven't they gotten far for a pair of fuzzy mammals?" his voice was sarcastic and I could hear a chuckle come from his throat.

"Trust me," the jackals' voice was closer as well, "that tater tot won't get much farther." Ramona gave a sudden intake of her breath as her ears perked and her eyes widened. Her mouth opened slightly to say something. I clamped my paw over her mouth to keep our location hidden. Whatever they just said, struck a cord with Ramona. I placed a finger from my free paw over my lips, signaling to her to keep her mouth shut.

"She'd better not," she jackals' boss warned, "You have two days to bring her to me." silence resumed in the boat as the footsteps walked away from her hiding spot and onto the top deck. After I was sure they were gone, I took my paw from Ramona's mouth and sighed heavily, relieved they were gone.

"I know who they are," Ramona said quietly, "I know who they are." She brushed her bangs from her face before standing. I stood as well and shook the dirt from my clothing.

"Bad past?" she nodded and zoomed past me towards the hatch above us.

"I'll explain later," she turned to me briefly, "but I'm getting of this ship before they figure out where I am." I managed to squeeze past her so I could get out of the hatch first, knowing that if they were waiting for us to come out then they'd grab me first instead of her.

I peered out over the edge of the hatch carefully, looking for the jackal or his mysterious boss. Thankfully, or maybe not, there wasn't anyone on the deck. I pulled myself up onto the deck and stood, double checking our security. I reached down, grabbing Ramona's arm, and helped her onto the deck herself. After the fight on the deck, I wasn't sure where the crew or any of our ancestors had wandered off to and honestly, it was too quiet on the ship. I glanced to the sea, searching for the enemy ship or the jackal. His ship was still there, but the man was no where to be seen. I took a few steps away from Ramona and started looking for our ancestors. Something wasn't right, they had mysteriously disappeared and there was no sign of the crew.

"How do master pirates suddenly disappear?" Ramona's voice sounded from the other end of the ship.

"I don't know," I replied as I made my way to the door to the captain's quarters, "but I think I know where they are." I jiggled the knob on the door and found it to be locked. I gripped the handle firmly and slammed my shoulder into the door, trying to bust the lock and hopefully find our ancestors. I winced at the slight pain shooting up my arm with each slam on the door. With one final impact on the door, it popped open, revealing all three of our ancestors bound and gagged inside.

"Found them!" I shouted towards Ramona as I ducked down and started trying pulling the ropes off Henriette's wrists.

"Whoever that man is," the pirate muttered, "he's nothing more than a coward, too afraid to take on the captain like a real pirate."

"He's not a pirate…he's a monster." I finally managed to pull the ropes from her wrists and I had just started removing the ones from Pedro when I heard Ramona start screeching. My head snapped in her direction and after seeing what was going on, I flung my legs over the edge of the banister in front of the captains' quarters. I bolted down the length of the ship, ready to punch the lights out on the jackal. He had Ramona by the hair, pulling her with him. Ramona struggled against him and managed to slam an elbow into his rib cage before I was able to get there. He let go slightly, enough to let her slip away. The only place she was able to go was over the edge of the ship. I wasn't able to stop her, or the jackal, from being sent over board.

"Ramona!" I shouted after Ramona had landed in the water.

"Is she crazy?" Pedro shouted after sliding next to me, "Those rip currents are too strong; they'll carry her under." I couldn't see Ramona anywhere in the water, but I did see the jackal start drifting away from ships, thanks to the currents. He was floating away in the ocean and away from us, but Ramona was still missing.

"Ramona!" I kept repeating her name, hoping to find her floating in the water or pulling herself over the edge of the ship.

"I don't see her," I said after heading to the other side, "I don't see her at all." I ran my fingers through my hair and expected the worst, Ramona had either been carried away or pulled under with the currents.

"Capt'n!" the first mate Jones shouted from the stern of the ship, "She's in the water!" I was the first one to rush over to the pirate. I peered over the edge of the ship and sighed in relief when I saw Ramona. She was tired of fighting the currents and had managed to cling to a piece of mast that had been blow off the ship. Half her body was still in the water, with her head resting on the wood and her claws keeping her in place.

"Hold on, chica!" Carmen shouted as she and her brother started tossing lines into the water, "We'll have up back on the ship." She gave smile and a thumbs up as she waited for the lines to reach her on her floating piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Adios guapo," Carmen purred as she delivered another pinch to my backside. Again, I jumped at her advanced as she walked post, only to have a giggle and a sway of her hips as a reply.

"I told you," I whispered harshly to the female next to me, "she starts it!" the un-amused Ramona simply glanced up to me as we walked down the pier to the ships.

"Mhmm," she hummed as she kept her gaze forward, avoiding me at all costs, "Of course she does." She glanced up again, a playful smirk spread across her face.

"Besides," I said as I hooked my thumb through on of her belt loops on the far side of her waist, "I don't care for older women." She snorted at my rather poor ancestry joke as we continued walking. We had decided to watch Pedro and Carmen set sail before heading back to the van and heading for our Wild West ancestors in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We had planned on seeing Henriette cast away, but she had slipped away from the tavern before we had a chance to watch her ship leave port. Ramona and I stopped at the end of the pier, expecting to see a rather large and somewhat stereotypical pirate ship wading in the water. Instead there was only a small little puddle-jumper boat bobbing in the water, looking like it could only seat one person.

"Is that it?" Ramona asked only we had met back up with her ancestor.

"No," he sighed, "that is only a dingy. My ship is beautiful, and magnificent, and-and huge and…gone. Why is it gone?" he searched the surrounding waters for his ship, only to be greeted with an empty harbor.

"Is that it over there?" I pointed to the open sea, where a ship could be seen on the horizon." Pedro nodded and pulled out his telescope.

"That's it," he pulled the telescope from his eye, "now why is it there?" he peered through his telescope again and growled to himself.

"Cooper." He growled to as I pulled out my binoccucom and focused on the ship. I chuckled to myself when I saw who had stolen Pedro's ship. Henriette stood at the helm of the ship, a smile spread across her face as she used a paw to wave towards the pier; steering the ship further and further away from the pier with each passing moment. Pedro and Henriette may not have had the same type of romantic relationship as our other ancestors, but it was obvious that they had one, just like all the others.


	12. Chapter 12: The First True Cowgirl

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Chapter 12! Again, I'm sorry for the delay, but my grandmother is still in the hospital, ICU, and trying to visit her daily, write this, and focus on my semester papers and/or projects has been a handful. So, hopefully the next chapter can come sooner…but I'm not completely sure. Anyway, please read and let me know what you think! Thanks!_

Chapter 12: The First True Cowgirl

Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1878

The swinging doors to the saloon squeaked as Tennessee pushed them open forcefully. I followed behind my gun slinging ancestor with Ramona close behind me. The thuds of our boots thudded against the wooden floors of the saloon, only to be drowned out by the sounds of clinking shot glasses and shouting men. It certainly wasn't the place I'd expect Ramona's ancestor to dwell in, but when it comes to the Bandicoot family anything could be expected. It was a medium sized saloon, somewhat stereotypical of western movies and a dwelling place for outlaws; a bar in the corner, poker tables strewn everywhere, and enough whiskey and cigar smoke to last a life time. We followed Tennessee through the maze of poker tables, past the entertainment of dancing women, through another set of swinging doors to another secluded area of the saloon. The noise was slightly drowned out from the first room, only to be greeted by an even louder second one. This one was even thicker with cigar smoke and trays of whiskey shots were being put at the tables two at a time. This was certainly the rougher section of the already tough saloon. Why a female would even dream of entering this place was beyond my reasoning. The entire placed smelled like a mixture of blood, sweat, booze, and second hand smoke.

"Are you sure this is the right ancestor?" Ramona's accented voice whispered as softly as she could, despite the noise given off by the saloon attendees.

"I think that question should be for you, Mademoiselle. Are you sure this would be an appropriate place?" not that I doubted my ancestors word; I just couldn't see how people could enter this place. Just from walking through two rooms we were already smothered in cigar smoke and had heard enough foul language to make a sailor blush velvet.

"From what I've read, she's not a girly, elegant, or even remotely well-mannered woman." Our conversation paused momentarily as we were told to stay put by Tennessee. To keep from causing an uprising of having new comers into a 'select group' of 'honorable' saloon members, it was best that we stayed put at the door while Tennessee fished May Ella Bandicoot from the sea of smoke.

"A true American cowgirl, eh?" I said with a chuckle while nudging her elbow with mine. She chuckled quietly and shifted the rather large western hat from her head. Much to her disapproval, the only way to get Ramona inside the saloon without looking suspicious was to dress her up as a man; keeping her face covered with a large hat and an overly baggy shirt to hide her…lady parts.

"Drinker, smoker, gambler, gun-slinger, saloon brawler, outlaw, you name it…it's May Ella Bandicoot."

Through the smoke, I could see Tennessee make his way to the biggest of all the poker tables and sit down, across from a narrow shouldered figure, completely with a wide brim hat, a fat cigar in their teeth, and a deck of cards in their grasp. Ramona and I stayed near the entrance, waiting for approval to completely enter the establishment and sit to talk with our ancestors. We craned our necks, trying to see what was happening at the poker table. I couldn't understand my ancestor's sudden urge for a hand of poker…unless May Ella was at that table as well. I could faintly hear the talking at that table, considering the noise that was already coming from the other tables, but I wasn't quiet sure what was being said. I could tell that whoever was at the head of the table, wanted the other people sitting there to leave, besides Tennessee.

"Do you really think following the jackal is the best idea?" Ramona's voice chirped up over the crowd as she crossed her arms over her chest and glanced up to me.

"Bentley just suggested that we keep an eye on him and see what he's planning. He thinks we'll be safer if we can get our ancestors to go with us. We both know that Tennessee can hold his own in a gun fight and from what I've seen of the wanted posters around the town…May Ella can do the same."

"You really think he's going to try and pull something else today? I mean there was already that ship battle earlier today, could he pull something else?"

"I don't know," I scratched at my chin as I thought, "With the time window narrowing down, there's not telling what he'll do." After saying it…I soon realized it wasn't the best choice of words. Excluding the rest of today, we only had about a day and a half to figure out this riddle and we weren't any closer to solving it.

"Sly, you said you'd have it solved by today…how close are you to an answer?" she stared me down until she received her answer, her tail flicking angrily behind her.

"It's…still a work in progress." She scoffed and landed a closed fist to my chest.

"We don't have that much time left, Sly!" I placed my paws on her shoulder, a sign telling her to calm down.

"We'll figure it out, Ramona. I promise that we'll have it done by tomorrow." I flashed the woman a smile before the both of us jumped at the sudden noise. Five or six gunshots went off by the poker table Tennessee was sitting out and the men quickly stepped away from the table. Then men silently exited the room, their tails tucked firmly between their legs as they all exited the room.

Ramona and I both looked in the direction of the poker table, only to see Tennessee motioning us over to him with a few waves of his arm. The raccoon and I followed hesitantly, not really wanting to end the day with a bullet lodged somewhere inside our bodies. We sat down at the poker table next to my ancestor, swatting away the remaining smoke from the table. I could faintly make out an outline of a person sitting across from Tennessee leaning back in their chair with their boots on the table and a cigar in their jaws. Ramona and I sat silently in the quiet room as Tennessee and the mysterious poker player finished their hand of cards. It didn't take long for the two players to slam their cards down on the table forcefully, only to have Tennessee have the better cards. He sat back in his chair and barked a laugh as a ring of smoke came from the second player.

"Forget it, Cooper." A female's voice sounded from the outline on the other side of the table, complete with a heavy western accent.

"Now Ms. May Ella," the other Cooper mused, "we had an agreement," May Ella Bandicoot stood from her seat and grabbed the shot glass next to her before strolling around the poker table, "If I won the card game then you'd come along." Ramona's ancestor finally came into full view and made her way to the bar next to the poker table.

"I said forget it, Cooper. Every time I 'come along' with you, I get shot!" the female made her way behind the bar, placing the shot glass on the counter and pulled out a bottle of whiskey from underneath, "Last time I got shot in the ass!" the poured herself a shot of the alcohol and downed it without hesitation, "I've been mourning for my ass!" I could already tell that May Ella was different from Ramona's ancestors. Not only was she rough and tough woman, she looked different from all the others. Sure, her facial features were the same, but small things were different. For instance, unlike all of the rest of Ramona's ancestors, May Ella was blonde and the tallest of all the women we'd seen. She was also one of the few who actually wore pants. She, like Ramona, was dressed as a man in order to blend on. Only, her outfit was a little tighter than Ramona's; she apparently wasn't afraid to show she was a woman.

"Will you quit your whining? You'll get a cut this time." Ramona's ancestor looked up from pouring her second drink and screwed the lid back on the whiskey.

"How much?" she placed the bottle down and stuck her cigar back in her mouth, taking a long draw before puffing out another ring of smoke. Tennessee paused briefly, running his thumb and middle finger over his moustache. Ramona and I stayed silent while they worked out their deal.

"Ten percent." Tennessee said after a long pause. May Ella snorted and shook her head.

"Fifty," she gave a wide smile and knocked back her second shot. Tennessee shook his head as well and stood from his seat, fixing his vest and continuing to argue with Ramona's ancestor.

"Twenty percent, Bandicoot." May Ella pulled out a second shot glass and started pouring liquor into both glasses.

"Forty percent and I promise not to shoot anybody." Tennessee simply shook his head again and rested his shoulders on the bar.

"Thirty-five." He said with a falsely stern voice. She smiled again and pointed a finger in his direction.

"Deal," she slid the second glass down to Tennessee and took the other in her paws, "but I'm bringing my gun," She chuckled and downed her third glass before stepping away from the bar and strolling back to the poker table, "So what's the job, Kid? Wagon full of robbers, knock off a millionaire, another bank job?"

"Recon job," Tennessee said after finishing off his shot glass and seating himself back at the poker table, propping his feet up on the table itself.

"On who, the sheriff, the deputy, any other law enforcement official? Because if it is," she paused as she seated herself as well and took another draw from her cigar, "I want a word with 'em." Smoke flooded from her nose and mouth as she spoke while she glanced to where Ramona and I were sitting.

"Somebody that's been following them around," Tennessee pointed to us and May Ella took a final draw from her cigar before putting it out on the edge of the poker table. Ramona's ancestor stood and adjusted her belt and picked up her hat from the table.

"They got horses?" Tennessee nodded and stood as well along with Ramona and myself. Tennessee led the way out of the saloon with May Ella behind him. Ramona and I followed them out silently as we made our way through the first loud room and into the late afternoon sun. We hadn't really said anything, considering this was a tough saloon, saying the wrong thing could wind up with you having a bullet in your head.

"So," May Ella said after climbing on her horse and taking the reins in her paws, "what does this fella look like?"

"Tall," I sat after I was secure on my own horse, "muscular, black fur..." May Ella nodded before pausing in thought. She removed her hat briefly and adjusted her shoulder-length braid so it rested behind her back.

"Are you lookin' for a jackal?" Ramona nodded and May Ella turned to Tennessee, who had the same look of though on his face that May Ella did.

"Wasn't there a jackal in town t'day?" Tennessee pulled the reins on his horse and started progressing forward. The three of us followed him slowly through the town as we chatted.

"Sure was," May Ella pulled her hat down over her head, hiding her face, "was lookin' through the wanted posters. Which one of you is he after?" Ramona nodded her head slightly and May Ella hummed in thought.

"Wonder what he wants with a Bandicoot." She pulled on the reins of her horse and turned it in the opposite direction, "I talked to the fella earlier; said he was headed north of town after he made a stop at the saloon."

"Only thing north of town is the old minin' town that shut down a few years ago. Think he'd be goin' there?" Tennessee fixed his moustache again and turned to Ramona's ancestor.

"Well that's why it's called recon ain't it?" May Ella smiled and flicked her reins, making her horse start galloping through town. Tennessee, Ramona, and I did the same, following the blonde raccoon out of the town and into the open desert.

"You said he had some sort of time machine in Arabia, right?" Ramona asked as her horse trotted next to mine, "You think that's why he went out there, to keep it hidden?"

"I guess," I shrugged my shoulders, "It's a big machine, he couldn't really keep it hidden in the town. Who is this guy anyway?" she tightened her reins around her paws and shifted in the seat.

"I know who he is, but I'm not one thousand percent sure who his boss is. If it's who I think it is, then we can't be too careful." Ramona was reluctant to say anymore, but it was vital that she told everything if she wanted to make it to the weekend, "I'll tell you more later." She muttered as we reached the outskirts of the mining town. We dismounted our horses and snuck up and pressed ourselves against the closest building, listening for anything important.

With my heightened sense of hearing, thanks to a life of thieving, I could faintly hear the murmur of voices somewhere in the distance. Ramona had already picked up on the voices and had started slowly and silently edging her way against the side of the building. She ducked her head around the corner and scanned the area. The four of us inched our ways across the edge of the building towards the voices, listening carefully for anything vital. Thankfully, the shadows were on our side. With night quickly approaching, the darkening sky gave us the perfect cover. We stopped, with Ramona in the lead, when the two familiar voices became audible. We kept our backs pressed tightly against the building, blending into the shadows and eavesdropping on our enemies.

"Do you realize that you're running out of time?" the unknown man spoke with a grimacing voice.

"I realize that, _doctor_, but I can only work so fast." The jackal sneered back in a similarly angry voice.

"Then you'd better learn to work faster. Need I remind you that you are on _my time_?" I could hear the jackal growl inwardly and exhale deeply.

"Look, it's obvious that this pesky little rat isn't going to back off. Why do you need _me_ to get her? You're the one with the time machine; just go back and get her yourself at a better time."

"I have plans with my glorious machine and that nosy little raccoon. But first, I need you to get her so step one can be completed. Once step two can be put into place, all of this…will be a distant memory." With that, the talking stopped. I could hear the footstep of the jackal and his boss start making their way towards us. We needed to get out of the abandoned town and back to the saloon before we were caught. The four of us backed up slowly, taking small quiet steps to avoid being caught. We heard the unfortunate sound of one of our horses stomp the ground and snort, possibly drawing the attention of the people we were hiding from. Not sticking around to make our escape, we shuffled to our horses silently and jumped on. We galloped away from the old town, trying to keep away from possible flying bullets or worse.

"What did he mean by 'distant memory'?" I asked as we galloped away from the abandoned mining town.

"I don't know," Ramona said with concern etched across her face, "but I've got a bad feeling about this, Sly. I need to think about it for a while; a long while." She flicked her reins with a snap, letting her horse speed ahead. I called after her, speeding ahead as well. We didn't have time for her to start keeping things in all of a sudden. She had reached the town a good bit before I had and she had simply gotten off her horse and was making her way to the upper section of the saloon, which was set up somewhat like a hotel. Tennessee had allowed Ramona, Murray, Bentley, and I each rooms for the night instead of us sleeping in the back of the van…again.

"Ramona!" I called after her again only to have her brush me away with a flick of her paw. I turned back to Tennessee and May Ella, who had just now made their way up to the saloon, in an attempt to apologize for her sudden evasive actions. They seemed to understand and ushered me to go chase after the raccoon. I watched briefly as they took our horses by the reins to tie them to the post before coming in themselves. I sprinted up the stairs, skipping every other one as I did, and rounded the corner to Ramona's room. The door was shut but the illumination from a lamp on the inside could be seen through the cracks.

"Ramona," I said as I tapped my knuckles on the wooden door to her temporary bedroom.

"Go away Cooper," she called from the other side of the door, "I don't want to talk about it."

"We don't have time to hide things, Ramona! Who is he?" Ramona stayed silent on the opposite side of the door, stubbornly refusing to answer. I gripped the doorknob, ready to enter, when I stopped. I was mentally debating on whether or not to go in there. We needed to figure out who this jackal and his boss were and Ramona was the only one who had finally figured it out. On the other hand, I'd worked with Ramona long enough to realize that whenever she got like this, there was usually some hidden, mysterious meaning to the entire situation and she wanted to be left alone to have some sort or inner search. I re-gripped the doorknob, still mentally debating if I should go in…or leave.

_I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Despite the fact there wasn't much action…I like the old west theme. A gun slinging, cigar smoking, whiskey chugging ancestor is a new twist when you compare them to all the others…made it enjoyable to write. :D And I promise, the next chapter will have much more old west gun slinging, brawling, and booze…I promise. ;)_


	13. Chapter 13: Shootout at the Saloon

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Sorry for the update delay, but I have been busy. Again, this feels a little rushed, or to me it does, but I wanted to get this posted before I got too busy to update/write. I've got a big term project due in a few weeks so until that's completed, updates will still be scarce. But I will try to do my best to get them posted in a timely manner and written to where they don't seem too rushed. Other than that…please read and let me know what you think! I love getting feed back on how I write and I'm always up for suggestions on how to improve my writing…but please don't be too cruel. (:_

Chapter 13: Shootout at the Saloon

Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1878

I twisted the knob of Ramona's door slowly and pushed the door open quietly, glancing inside the room. Ramona sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to chin, and her face buried in her arms. I stepped inside silently, shutting the squeaky door behind me. I sat next to her on her bed, the mattress shifting slightly with the added weight, and looked over her slender form. She stayed completely silent, ignoring the fact I was there as she stayed focused in her own world.

"Talk to me," I muttered softly to the raccoon. She pulled her head up, using her paw to brush her bangs from her face before spinning on the bed slightly so she could face me properly.

"Does the name Spencer Carnahan ring any bells to you?" she looked up, her multicolored eyes looking me over.

"No," I shook my head slowly as I thought over the new name, "not really." She sighed softly and balled her paws up, resting them softly in her lap before glanced back at me.

"Do you remember when we were kids…at the orphanage?" I nodded slowly and waited for her to continue, "And do you remember the day Cortex's cronies took me and my brother from the playground?"

"Of course I do. It's the last time I saw you before you come back to Paris like…twelve years later." To much surprise to some of my other thieving acquaintances, Ramona and I haven't really been in contact except for the past five years or so. After she was kidnapped from the orphanage when she was about nine or ten, I hadn't seen or talked to her until I ran into her on a heist five or so years ago.

"I don't know what you remember about the thugs that broke into the playground, but one was a big lab rat…and the other was a jackal." She picked at the loose stings on her pants leg and bit her lip in thought. It took a brief minute, but it finally clicked in my mind on what she was getting at.

"Are you saying that the jackal who's tailing us now, is the _same_ jackal who was hired to kidnap you from the orphanage fifteen years ago?" she nodded quietly.

"I figured it out when he called me 'tater tot' on Henriette's ship earlier today. That's what he called after he took me from the orphanage and the nickname was just stuck in my head I guess, like a suppressed memory.

"Well if it's she same jackal, then he had to have been just a kid when he was hired." She nodded again and sighed.

"He was about sixteen, he's not that much older than I am. But the thing is," she said before swinging her legs out from under her, letting them dangle off the bed, "I'm afraid of who his boss is." She slid off the bed and strolled to the table in the corner of the room.

"Cortex?" I asked as I watched her start to rummage through her trademark satchel. She shook her head and looked up briefly from her bag.

"For once it's not." She said softly before searching through the bag again.

"That's a shock," I said to the raccoon as I slid off the bed myself and followed Ramona at the table, coming up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist as she pulled a notebook from her satchel. My paws roamed across her stomach and up and down her sides as she flipped through the pages in her notebook, which looked like a book she kept of her enemies, looking for something in particular.

"I know," she replied after a long pause, "he's usually the cause for the misery in my life. But this time, it's this guy," she said as she finally found the page she was looking for and showed it to me.

"Dr. Nefarious Tropy?" I read the name aloud before looking over the rest of the page. There was a brief description of the guy, along with a picture of his body and something about his abilities.

"Does this look familiar?" Ramona asked as she flipped the page and pointed to another picture. She pointed to a picture of a large machine, one that was familiar to me.

"That's the time machine I saw when I planted the tracker on the jackal back in Arabia." She nodded and absent mindedly ran her fingers over the pages on the side of the book.

"I was afraid of that. N. Tropy was working on the plans for this back when I was a kid. I'd managed to snag looks at the plans then and they were complex; I never thought they'd be able to build it and get it to work. Then when I saw how well your time machine worked and Bentley mentioned that you'd seen a time machine in Arabia, I had an idea he was the one behind it. Besides, he _loves_ to brag that he's a master of time' and a creator of a glorious time machine."

"He mentioned that," I said when I realized that he'd mentioned something along those lines when I spied on the jackal and his boss in Arabia, "How powerful can this machine be?"

"Very," she said before glancing up to me, "from the plans I've seen that machine can go to a time period and pull people out of it. It's scary the power that they have. And somehow they're going to use that power to 'fulfill' this curse," she glanced to the quickly emptying hourglass on the table, "and they're getting closer to that goal."

"Listen," I said softly as I turned her around to face me, "I promised you that we'd figure this out, and we _will_ figure this out before that sand runs out." I brushed her bangs from her face and tucked them behind her ears.

"You keep saying that but we haven't gotten anywhere. Sly, we have just over a day to figure this out or I'm screwed. We have tomorrow, then part of the next day before that sand runs out." She sighed as she wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest. She was right though…we were dangerously close to our deadline and had gotten nowhere productive.

"I know," I kissed the top of her head and gave her shoulders a hug before pulling away and smiling at her, "but I don't break promises." She smiled in return and turned back to her book.

"I need a bigger notebook," she said as I flipped through some of the pages, "I'm running out of room." I came up behind her again and looked through the pages with her.

"So who exactly is in your notebook?" I nudged her with my shoulder and earned another chuckle from the raccoon.

"Enemies, people who are on my list, and so on." She glanced up to me again and gave a wide smile. I glanced at the book again and raised an eyebrow to the female before nudging her again.

"So why am I not in there?" she nudged playfully and shut the book slowly with a playful glint in her eyes.

"I have my reasons." She winked and rolled past me, heading for the door. I followed behind her quickly, wanting to go ahead and get something for dinner before packing it in for the night. By the time I had closed the door behind me, Ramona had already made it to the balcony of the stairs. She had stopped and was leaning over the edge of the railing, looking into the saloon in front of her. I came up beside her, looking over the balcony with her and realizing what she was looking at. Tennessee and May Ella were sitting in the saloon below, chatting to themselves while chain smoking cigars and downing shot after shot of whiskey; not necessarily the most romantic thing to do…but it worked for them. After seeing six ancestors, each one of them seemed to have their own ways of showing their affections to one another. Nefertiti and Slytankhmen had their way through ranting while Sir Galleth and Katherine had Galleth's chivalry and Sampada and Salim had their bonding and romance happen through thieving and sneaking around. Kasumi and Rioichi used their restaurants for romance while Pedro and Henriette used pillaging and plundering to let their affections show; all of them somewhat descent methods of showing romance. But May Ella and Tennessee used booze and cigar smoke to get that point across. Granted, each of our ancestors' methods worked for them, depending on their situations and I couldn't really judge…Ramona and I used rivalry and life threatening situations for something remotely romantic to unfold. We continued to watch our ancestors chat with each other, each with a full glass in their paws and a cigar hanging from their mouths.

"Well I don't know about you," I said after a while, eventually standing up and stretching, "but I'm going downstairs, get some dinner, then I'm going to bed. We have to get up early if we're going to make it to England."

"So we're going to merry ole England and visit and Mister Thaddeus Winslow Cooper?" Ramona asked in an exaggerated English accent and a signature smile.

"Indeed!" I laughed and made my way down the staircase with Ramona behind me. We entered the almost empty saloon and sat at the same table with Tennessee and May Ella, ready to eat before settling down for the day ahead of us. We had a rather simple dinner, a few pieces of bread and meat from earlier in the day. To my surprise, the wild, wild west was the first place were we could sit down without the threat of the jackal, or Spencer Carnahan as I now knew him, or one of Ramona's tantrums about something new to only cause us trouble. I guess the wild west wasn't as wild as the story books and history scholars make it look like…or so I thought. We had only gotten about halfway through our dinner before gunshots started ringing out and we started ducking for cover.

The gunshots started suddenly, smashing the windows of the saloon and busting bottles everywhere. Shouts from the gunslingers could be heard outside and the stomping of horse hooves could be heard as well. However, it was hard to see exactly who the shooters were…not like I really didn't know…due to the time of day it was outside. The gunshots were loud, making it hard to hear what was going on inside the saloon, and give the fact Tennessee and May Ella had started firing back as well certainly didn't help. Since I didn't have a gun to fight back with, I was stuck keeping my head down to dodge bullets. In the sudden ambush of bullets, I had managed to loose track of where Ramona had wondered off to in the sudden chaos. Keeping my head close to the ground, I made my way to the bar, hoping to find the raccoon. Gunfire continued to rain down into the saloon, from both sides, as my back touched the bar and I briefly paused to watch the scene ahead of me. both Tennessee and May Ella took cover behind the over turned table we had been sitting at only a few minutes ago, reaching over it to fire out the window at the intruders before ducking back down behind the wooden table to reload their pistols and resume their firing. Bullets started hitting the bar, sending sharps of wood flying in all directions. I used my arms to cover my head and face, to keep from getting hit by the sudden bombardment of shrapnel. I couldn't help but yell out a yelp of pain when a sudden wave of pain shot up my arm. I clutched my arm, feeling blood between my fingers as it seeped through my wound. I wasn't completely sure what hit me, probably a shard of wood or glass from the gunfire, but it certainly hurt.

After about another half hour of bullets flying and my arm spurting blood, the enemy fire finally stopped and silence resumed in the saloon. I looked at my arm again, looking at the blood that had soaked my shirt and realizing that it was a bullet lodged in my arm, not a piece of wood or glass. My arm stung, pain was shooting up into my shoulder, and blood kept gushing out faster than I could stop it. I stayed slumped against the bar, tying to stop the bleeding when I realized where Ramona had taken cover. The flustered raccoon peered out from behind the bar, on the other side from where I took my poor choice in cover.

"They just don't quit, do they?" Ramona said as she rounded the corner. It didn't take long for her to realize I had been hit and her intent on healing start kicking in. She started calling for Bentley to bring down a first aid kit while she pulled the hole in my shirt open over my wound, so she could get a better view at the wound.

"It doesn't look that deep," she said as she started pulling her belt out from its loops and wrapping it a little lower than my wound, "I should be able to pull it out."

"You?" I almost shouted, "Shouldn't we get a doctor?" I growled softly as she pulled the belt tightly, quickly cutting off my circulation from my arm, reducing the blood seeping from the hole in my arm.

"And let you get gang green or some other disease from improper medical equipment? No thank you, Cooper." She pulled me up gently and got me to my feet, keeping my arm up to reduce blood flow. May Ella and Tennessee quickly set the now bullet filled table back upright and a chair along with it so I could sit and allow Ramona to remove the bullet from my arm.

"I really don't think this is a good idea, Ramona." I repeated as Bentley finally made his way downstairs with a rat her large first aid kit in his lap.

"I know it's not that big," he told Ramona, "but it's the biggest one I have with me." Ramona's eye knitted together as she eyed the first air kit that had finally been placed on the table. The kit itself was about the size of a briefcase and wasn't small at all.

"This is small?" Ramona motioned to the case as she opened it, searching through the materials inside.

"That's his travel size," I muttered through my pain, "You should see the one he has at home." Ramona shook her head in disbelief and eventually pulled out a swab, wiping the blood from my fur so she could see what she was doing.

It wasn't until she pulled out a pair of tweezers that I started squirming around. It's not that I didn't trust Ramona, but the fact I had a bullet in my arm was putting me on edge. To keep me still and possibly wedging the bullet further into my arm, Ramona told Tennessee to hold me down and for May Ella to hold my arm out straight and still to keep it from moving. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and ears as the tweezers slipped between my skin and start searching for the bullet. I tried pulling away a few times, but our ancestors' death grip around my shoulders, neck, and arm kept me from run away from the tweezer wielding raccoon. Ramona talked to me softly as the tweezers finally grabbed the bullet lodged in my arm. I gripped the chair below me firmly with my free arm as I felt the bullet start moving out of my arm and through my muscles and tissues. It didn't cause much pain, but the entire thing was just a rather creepy feeling. I was finally released by my gun slinging ancestors once the bullet was removed and the only thing left to do was wrap my wound in a bandage.

"He's getting more violent," Ramona murmured softly as she cleaned the hole in my arm softly.

"He just knows that he's running out of time," I replied as I watched her work carefully but quickly. Ramona nodded and stayed silent as she finished wrapping my wound. After it was wrapped, she pulled the belt from my arm to allow blood to flow through my arm again. She ran her fingers through my hair before shutting the first aid kit and wiping her paws clean.

"That'll hurt for a few days," Tennessee said as he handed me a half filled glass of whiskey, "That won't get rid of your pain completely…but it'll help." I downed the alcohol quickly and placed the glass on the table. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but I'd rather feel the burn of that in my throat than the sting of a bullet wound.

"Come on," Ramona's now soft and tired voice caught my attention as her fingertips brushed my shoulder, "You're going to want to sleep before we have to get up in the morning." I stood from my chair while Ramona and I said our goodnights to our ancestors before starting the climb back up the stairs. We were both exhausted and in need of sleep. We needed to hustle tomorrow and visit the two remaining ancestors before going after the jackal and his boss.

"Goodnight," Ramona said softly once we had finally made it to the second floor. She quickly and softly kissed my cheek before trudging into her room for the night, the light inside going out quickly after the door was shut.

"Night," I said more to myself as I opened my own door and made my way inside. I flopped down on my bed, careful not to agitate my wound, before sighing loudly and rubbing my eyes. I was tired, stressed and ready for all of this to end. I tried focusing on what we would do tomorrow, but my exhaustion got the better of me and I drifted off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14: Elizabeth the Victorian

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Again, I'm sorry for the gap in updates, but I've been busy with college work…and Sly 4-ing. :P And I know this chapter is a little short…but it should start picking up again in the next chapter and only one more ancestor after this! Anyway, please read and review and let me know what you think!_

Chapter 14: Elizabeth the Victorian

Oxford, England: 1839

Even after a somewhat peaceful night sleep and enough pain medicine to sedate a cow, I was surprised to see that I still had shooting pains up my arm each time I moved it. The last thing I wanted to do was get out and jump, run, and move here, there, and everywhere, but we only had the rest of today and a little bit of tomorrow before Ramona's five day time limit was over and she would be forced to succumb to the fatality of her family's curse. I decided to ignore my pain and focus on the task at hand. After waking up at the crack of dawn, Ramona and I had managed to track down her Victorian era ancestor, Ms. Elizabeth Bandicoot. Elizabeth was a woman who was able to use her appearance to her advantage. According to Ramona, she was able to use her quick and accurate analytical abilities to get what she wanted to steal. And if that didn't work…she would use the old fashioned sweet charm and good looks to get what she wanted. Like many Elizabeth era upper class women, Elizabeth walked in a proper manner, her head held high, and her nose pointed upwards…looking like a complete snob or spoiled brat. But after talking to her for about an hour as we searched for Thaddeus Winslow Cooper, we realized it was all a ruse to fit in with the society around her.

We followed closely behind the female, finding it easy to keep an eye on her. Again, trying to fit with the surrounding fashion moguls, Elizabeth's dress was big enough for two people. The raccoon walked slowly, trying to keep her balance in the dress. The large back end of the dress made it hard to walk in, making our journey to Thaddeus' residence slow. Given the fact that Ramona had to fit in as well, Bentley had fashioned Ramona a dress for her. Ramona grumbled under her breath as she walked down the sidewalk of the rather dirty city. The three of us finally turned into the opening of a small archway, leading us to the front door of Thaddeus' home. She brought a paw up to the wooden door and knocked, waiting for the raccoon that lived there to answer the door. She knocked again and again, only to be answered with silence.

"Thaddeus!" she shouted as she pounded her fist on the door, "He's in there," she said as she turned to Ramona. I watched as she pulled a small skeleton key out of her sleeve and stuck it in the lock, turning it quickly. To my surprise, the door opened with ease and she shoved the key back down her sleeve.

"English locks are so easy to open," Elizabeth said with a smile as she pushed the door open and entered, motioned us inside.

"Thaddeus!" Elizabeth shouted again as Ramona and I entered inside the small townhouse and shut the door behind us. She removed her small coat and dress hat on the coat rack next to the door and closed her small hand fan.

"Thaddeus!" she shouted towards the second floor, getting flustered as she was still ignored. She growled and stomped up the narrow staircase, lifting her dress up in the process as she made her way to the second floor. We followed behind her slowly, not wanting to get in her way and the fact that Ramona's dress was too big to fit in the narrow staircase. I finally pushed Ramona through the doorway to the second floor and mentally cursed the fashion of the time era. After making sure Ramona's dress wasn't attached to anything in the room, given the cluttered appearance of the room, I realized why Thaddeus hadn't been answering. The British raccoon was passed out on his couch, still in his petticoat and his monocle hanging off the edge of the couch. Maneuvering through the cluttered room, Ramona managed to flop down in a chair and swat her dress down. I decided to get off my feet as well, considering the fact we had walked for the better part of an hour. I sat on the edge of the chair Ramona was sitting in and relaxed briefly. Ramona and I sat quietly and watched Elizabeth made her way around Thaddeus' living room, glancing around the scattered papers and documents around the room. She reached over the sleeping male, glancing at the pocket watch in his vest pocket. She shook her head silently before snapping it shut and shoving it back in his pocket. Un-phased, Thaddeus gave a quick snore before rolling over on his side and continued his nap. Elizabeth simply giggled to herself and rolled her eyes at the raccoon before wandering throughout his house.

"Is she supposed to be this nosy?" I whispered to the modern aged raccoon beside me. She glanced up, brushing her hair from her face and shrugged, chuckling as she did. She looked back down at her lap, picking at her nails as she did. I could tell she was getting more worried with the time that we wasted. If we didn't figure out this curse in a little over twenty-four hours, she'd be gone; and I wasn't going to let that happen. Elizabeth eventually made her way back into the living room with the sleeping male and stood beside the table in front of the couch Thaddeus was napping on. She opened the Victorian style fan she was carrying and snapped it closed quickly, letting the loud crack wake Thaddeus up from his nap. His eyes snapped open, quietly scanning the room before glancing up to Elizabeth.

"Still asleep this late in the morning Thaddeus? You really should get up earlier." She winked at the now awake raccoon and strolled around the table, glancing again at the scattered papers.

"Well," he said before sitting up quickly, keeping an eye on the female, "I figured that one morning of sleeping late is a small reward after a long night of researching, Ms. Elizabeth." She stood from the couch and scampered to a painting on the wall. Waiting until Elizabeth had her back turned, the moved the painting away from the wall, revealing a small safe that was built into the wall. I pulled on the knob to make sure it was locked, which it was, before replacing the painting.

"Researching?" Elizabeth asked as she turned around with a playful smirk on her face, "Or have you been casing another job?"

"The specifics are not necessary, Ma'am." She rolled her eyes at my ancestor and shook her head softly. Thaddeus glanced over his table, making sure nothing was taken. From what I had seen, I could assume that Elizabeth had a habit of stealing items from Thaddeus…although I didn't think he minded.

"I didn't take anything Mr. Cooper," she purred as she seated herself on the couch, "Not yet at least." Thaddeus simply huffed at Elizabeth before glancing in my direction. He replaced his monocle and briefly tried to see if he recognized us; he of course didn't.

"Ms. Elizabeth, why are there two strangers in my home?" the female simply chuckled and flattened out her dress.

"I figured that a distant relative of yours and a distant relative of mine who needed our assistance was welcomed in your…humble…abode. Was I in the wrong?"

"What assistance are they in search of?" he asked as he turned back to both me and Ramona.

"We need to know if you've seen someone around here lately; a jackal." Thaddeus paused for a moment in thought, scratching at his chin as his worked his brain over and over, searching for an answer.

"There seems to have been a recent jackal sighting around…last night I believe. I remember seeing a newcomer…seemed a little suspicious in my opinion. I believe he was a jackal."

"Are you talking about the prowler that was spotted by the Constable on East Fleet Street?" Elizabeth's voice piped up after Thaddeus had finished.

"The very same," Thaddeus turned towards Elizabeth again, "He was a jackal, correct?" the woman nodded.

"Are there any important buildings there?" Ramona asked as she brushed more hair from her face. Maybe she was picking up on something that I hadn't quite thought of…so I figured I'd let her have the floor.

"Not really…" Elizabeth hummed as she thought, "…but there is the local jeweler. He specializes in jewels from all over the world and according to what the local paper said…that's where your little friend was lurking around."

"Why would he be at a jewelry store?" Ramona glanced up to me, her eyebrows knitted together in the middle of her brow.

"Especially in Victorian England…" I looked towards Ramona's ancestor and spoke, "Did he take anything?" Elizabeth shook her head quietly, folding her paws neatly on top of her dress.

"Everything was left untouched, he was just spotted prowling around outside. I can show you where the jeweler's store is, if you wish." Ramona nodded towards her ancestor, who gave a wide smile and stood, "Finally, something exciting to do in this stuffy old town."

"Ms. Elizabeth," Thaddeus tugged at his vest, attempting to straighten it out after his nap, "I surely can't allow you to wander off in the most dangerous part of the city alone." Elizabeth giggle, giving Thaddeus a small smile.

"Then by all means come along, Sir," she sauntered around the living room making her way over to the quite fireplace, pulling Thaddeus' cane away from its resting spot in the fire poker holder, "I'm quite sure you and you relative are able to keep two ladies safe in the streets of England…correct?" she gave a small press the ruby at the bottom of the curve of the cane and pulled, revealing a small dagger attached to the hook of the cane, "After all, you are well armed." She brought the two pieces of the cane back together, hiding the dagger back in its original hiding spot before heading towards the stair case.

"Now how do you plan on getting down there without being caught, Madame? The Constable's are constantly looking for you, remember?" the woman paused at the top of the staircase, the wheels in her head turning as she thought.

"We walk in pairs," she turned to Thaddeus, "two of us in the front and the others in the back a few feet behind. One set heads for the front of the store, stating that they are looking for a fine piece of jewelry for the lady. The other pair should head for the back, looking for anything suspicious while the couple in the shop keeps an eye out for the shop keeping checking for anyone else attempting to break in. Once we're done in the back, we leave separately. Does that suit you, Sir?" Thaddeus pulled on his overcoat and nodded to the Victorian Era raccoon.

"And who shall you be walking with?" he shot her a smile, expecting for her to latch arms with him so we could start our miniature mission, but instead, I was yanked by the collar towards the stairs by the intelligent raccoon.

"I'm just going to…walk with her." I gave a nervous smile to Ramona, who simply giggled, stood, and took Thaddeus' arm, before being pulled down the stairs by Elizabeth.


	15. Chapter 15: Timenapped

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well, here's chapter 15! I know it's short…but it's short…I have no excuse. :P Updates are coming a little faster again; I'm not as busy at the moment so I have time to update! Other than that…just please read, review, and leave me some feedback. Thanks~_

Chapter 15: Timenapped

Oxford, England: 1839

I carried Elizabeth on my arm as we waltzed down the streets of Victorian England. Ramona and Thaddeus were a good ways ahead of us, according to the plan, and were walking arm and arm as well. We had decided that Thaddeus and Ramona would be the ones would be the ones to go inside and keep the shop keeper distracted while Elizabeth and I would be the ones to search the back of the store and see that if the jackal had left anything behind. For Ramona's sake…I hope the guy left everything behind. We were hitting the deadline and we had to figure out the answer to this stupid curse before tomorrow morning. Ramona was worried, I was stressed, and we had nothing to go on. Three and a half days had gone by, we'd seen seven of our ancestors, and we can't find _anything_ that they had in common. They didn't have the same physical traits, they didn't die at the same age or day, and they weren't even all raccoons when you consider that Ramona's mother was a fox. The only slight they had had in common was that they were thieves and they were each involved with a Cooper, but other than that…they were all complete opposites.

I shook my thoughts from my head to stop at the sidewalk, waiting for a horse and buggy to pass by so we could continue to the jewelers. Elizabeth lifted the hem of her dress up to avoid the med in the cobblestone streets as we crossed, hurrying to make it to the other sidewalk before we were plowed over by one of the unstopping carriages. By the time we had reached the other side of the sidewalk, Thaddeus and Ramona were ready to make their way into the jewelry store. We hurried footsteps and made our way beside Thaddeus and Ramona. We agreed to meet back outside in at least twenty minutes from now; knowing that spending too much time inside the store would draw attention and if we were caught snooping around the store, someone would think something fishy was going on. Thaddeus and Ramona entered the store, starting a distraction. Elizabeth and I snuck around to the back of the store, ready to start seeing if Spencer had left anything. The street behind the store wasn't that great. It was cold, wet, dirty, and just plain disgusting.

"Well it's obvious how he got in." Elizabeth's voice mumbles as she passed by me.

"How is that?" we hadn't been back here more than two minutes before she had figured it out. She pointed to a pile of crates in the corner. There was a small gap between them, leading to what looked like an internal air vent.

"An easy entrance…crawl in through the hole in the ground, which probably leads behind the counter, put the clerk at knife point and take what you want. Then just crawl back out and duck into the shadows. Since he was only caught prowling, he more than like just snuck in and scared the guy." She kicked at pieces of debris on the ground and shook her head.

"I don't see anything else of interest here…he didn't leave anything important." She was right…there was nothing back here.

"Was he spotted anywhere else?" Elizabeth shook her head and bit at her fingernails.

"No, but he wants something to do with something related to jewelry. Why else would he case a jewelry store after this 'time traveling', or whatever term you call it." She used to fingers for air quotations on 'time travel'.

"I've been trying to figure that out for four days." She chuckled and turned to me with a questionable look on her face.

"Now let me ask you something," I glanced to the raccoon as she continued, "When are you going to make you're move?" I knitted my eyebrows together and stared at the raccoon.

"My move?" I repeated. Elizabeth nodded and straightened her dress, "What would my move be, exactly?"

"With Ramona, of course. For as long as you've known her, you should have done something a while ago."

"I think you've got a misunderstanding, Ma'am. I promise you…there's nothing going on between-" she cut me off with a flick of her wrist.

"Mr. Cooper, I pride myself in my abilities to look at a person or a situation and figure something out about it. I've seen the way you two interact with each other, Sir. It's the same way I act with Thaddeus. Now if you're going to stand there and tell me other wise…you need to rethink your situation."

I got ready to open my mouth to rebut her statement, when a slight commotion from inside caught our attention. With Ramona, Thaddeus, and the clerk being the only people in the store, I knew that some sort of confrontation had occurred and a fight was starting to break out. Knowing how difficult it would be for a woman in a Victorian era dress to actually do something useful in a fight, I urged Elizabeth to stay away from the fight until things were settled down again. When I stepped inside the building, there wasn't an actually fight, just a rather large man hobbling outside. Thaddeus was leaned up against the wall, clutching his ribs and wheezing out a breath. I got ready to asked him what was going on, but he simply shook his head and motioned to the door. I wasn't sure what he was attempting to get across, but by his eagerness it was something important. It took a few seconds before it clicked in my head what it was.

I frantically searched the inside of the store…looking for Ramona. Both Thaddeus and Elizabeth were here but Ramona had vanished. The shop was small and it didn't take long to realize that the woman simply wasn't here. My head snapped in the direction of the door when I heard the unmistakable snap of reins on a buggy and a shout that came halfway down the street. I slide to the doorway, peering outside to see what the commotion was. Unfortunately, my fears were realized. I was able to catch the sight of the back of Spencer, with an unconscious Ramona draped over his shoulder, as he stepped inside of the buggy and slammed the door shut. I didn't think twice, but simply left my ancestor in the shop with Elizabeth and bolted down the street, after the buggy while it took off down the street. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, still pushing even though I had reached my top speed. I plowed people out of my way, trying to keep my eye on the buggy that was far ahead of me. The horse drawn carriage rounded a corner and I did as well.

I cursed out loud when I realized how close I was to loosing my black carriage in the sea of other black carriages that had suddenly decided to flood the streets…making my life that much harder. Thankfully I kept my eye on my carriage and kept ducking and weaving through people and other buggies in order to keep up with mine. My legs burned and my lungs were on fire, but I kept going. I wasn't going to let the power hungry psychopath take Ramona away from me. The buggy finally stopped in a back alley, but horse power was far faster than my own running strength and I was too late. By the time I finally reached the back of the alley where Spencer had taken Ramona, I was met by a few of his cronies. It also didn't take long for me to figure out what he was planning to do. With Ramona still hung over his shoulder and unaware of the world around her, the jackal stepped into his time machine, going directly to the control panel.

"Hey Cooper!" he shouted as he turned to me with a smug smirk on his face, "Look who I found!" he nudged his shoulder with Ramona on him upwards, bouncing the woman up. I felt my ears flatten against my skull, feeling my blood start to boil at the mere sight of that maniac. I pushed and pounded against the men, trying to break through.

"You're running out of time, Cooper!" Spencer chuckled to himself as he gave me a sarcastic two fingered salute as the whirring from his time machine started, sending both the jackal and Ramona through a time vortex and in the blink of an eye, they were both gone.


	16. Chapter 16: Solved

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_To begin, I'd like to thank 'ForeverFreelancer' for helping me with the Bandicoot ancestor for this chapter and certain plot details, so thank you! And yes, a longer chapter with action! This is the last ancestor…but I'm not done with this story yet. So anyway, please read, review, and let me know what you think. Thanks!_

Chapter 16: Solved

Berlin, Germany, 1928

"And all you need is an aerial recon?" I nodded as I walked towards the aircraft hangar with my mechanically talented ancestor, Otto Von Cooper. Thanks to the tracker that had been placed on the jackal when all this started, Bentley managed to track him down to twentieth century Germany, where Ramona and I both had mechanically engineered ancestors who were experts in flying. We weren't quite sure yet what that kidnapping jackal was doing in Germany, where he had taken Ramona, or what his plans were, but we _had_ to figure it out before the day was up if we wanted to find Ramona and solve this riddle before that sand ran out of the hour glass.

"That's all for right now. Just be on the lookout for anything or anyone suspicious." Otto nodded, running his fingers through his mustache as we pushed through the doors of the hangar. It was a relatively large hanger with about a half a dozen planes inside and a deflated blimp.

"It should be simple," Otto said as our footsteps were the only sounds inside the empty hangar, "The only issue is my plane. The engine needs replacing so I'll need Ringhart to fly instead."

"Ringhart?" I repeated, never hearing the name in my life.

"Amelia 'Ringhart' Bandicoot, one of the best flyers on this airfield and the only one willing to go on a recon job. Now, we just have to hope she's still at the hangar." We walked the rest of the way in silence, heading for the back of the hangar, hoping to find Ramona's ancestor at the end of it. I had a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach…like we were being watched as we made our way down the hangar floor. I shook the feeling as we approached the final plane in the hangar, which happened to be a bright cherry red, double seated plane. Otto walked up to the plane, searching for the plane flying raccoon. We eventually spotted the female sitting on one of the wings of the plane, polishing the paint and buffing out any scratches. From the looks of it, Ramona's ancestor took as much care of her plane as Murray did with his van. Otto patted the underside of the wing, trying to get Amelia's attention. The female looked up from her buffing and gave a toothy smile to Otto while kicking her legs over the side of the wing.

"What would you say to a recon?" Amelia's ears perked at the word 'recon', showing her excitement.

"It's about time!" she exclaimed as she stood on the wing of the plane briefly before jumping onto the ground of the hangar, "I've driven myself almost crazy just polishing my plane. What am I going to recon? Army base, armory, hiding site, what?" Otto shook his head and pointed to me.

"I was hoping that you could find someone for me. I'm looking either for a jackal or a raccoon…hopefully both." She nodded and flipped her curled, brunette hair over her shoulder.

"Can I have a description?" instead of wasting time by standing there describing Ramona and Spencer to her, I handed her a recon picture of each. She nodded as she looked over the pictures, keeping a mental picture of each. She flipped the pictures, glancing to the one of Ramona, and was taken back by her appearance.

"She's a Bandicoot, right?" I nodded and she took the pictures, putting them inside the pocket of her flight suit, "Let me warm up the engine and fly over the area, see if I can find them."

"Thank you," Amelia nodded, walking towards her plane, getting ready to set off in the last minute recon job. We didn't come here to talk with Ramona's ancestor to see what the two women had in common; we didn't have time for that anymore. Now, we needed a bird's eye view to find Ramona and get her away from the jackal. There was no guarantee that she was even here, but we had to look.

"And Otto," Amelia shouted as she made her way inside her planes' cockpit, "Please do something with that dirigible! I'm tired of having it in the hangar."

"Ms. Ringhart, this blimp will be the future of these airmen and they way they fly. Yes, it's slower than your plane, but it's quite…giving us a chance of sneaking up." Amelia rolled her eyes with a smile and pulled her goggles down around her neck.

"Otto, I don't care what you do with it…just get it our from in front of my area at least." The other Cooper simply laughed and stepped to the side of the plane and over to the propellers. The sound of the engines starting filled the hangar as Otto reached up, pulling on the blades to get them to start. With a kick of the engine, the propellers were moving faster and faster and the plane started rolling from its spot. Otto and I kept our distance from being hit by the blades and allowed Amelia to start to taxi the plane onto the runway outside. I stood back and allowed Amelia and Otto to do…whatever it was that they needed to do in order to get her in the air. My ancestor had told me that while Amelia was in the air, he would need to keep an eye on the radio to keep in contact with her incase anything went wrong. This in turn would give me time to think about what our next move would be.

It took a good twenty minutes for Amelia to get in the air and Otto on the radio system before everything would go seamlessly. Otto stayed in the control room, just off the hangar, while I stayed with the planes; giving me a quiet place to just sit and think. I paced the floor, spinning my cane in my fingers as I thought. I hadn't realized how fast Spencer actually was until he took Ramona. He had managed to daze Thaddeus, knock Ramona unconscious, get her on his shoulder, and get halfway down the street by the time I had gotten inside the jewelry store, which was only ten steps from where I was. We had to get Ramona back before it was too late. The jackal had been trying for days to get his paws on Ramona and now she was at his mercy. There was no telling what he has in store for her and there's no telling on what he's already done to her. I didn't trust his personality especially when he had his claws on an unconscious, unarmed, and defenseless female. Even though we had the tracker on Spencer, Ramona was left untagged…so we couldn't pinpoint her location. The best we could go on was the face that he would have to go back to her eventually. This in turn would lead us to her…if it wasn't too late.

"Still looking for that little Tater Tot, are you, Cooper?" the dry chuckle followed the unmistakable, sadistic voice of the jackal. I turned, finding that he was behind me. I had the feeling I was being watched and now I knew I was right. I could feel my blood pressure start to rise when I spotted the smug faced man across the room from me.

"Where is she?" I tightened my grip on my cane, ready to beat him down if I needed to. Spencer simply chuckled again, sticking his paws in his packets as his head shook and we started circling each other.

"You don't need to know right now, Cooper. But don't worry…I'm taking good care of her for you. I'll tell you what though," he continued walking and scratched at his chin in a false look of thought, "She's a feisty little fireball." My grip tightened on my cane as he continued talking.

"Don't you _dare_ lay a finger on her, Carnahan." He chuckled again and shook his head as we continued to circle each other.

"Oh I should have seen that coming," he laughed again, "Such a stereotypical line for a guy like you, but…it's a little late for that. I couldn't help myself, Cooper, I mean, you've seen her yourself. She has that very pretty face, perfectly proportional, and her curves can make any man turn and look her way." He winked and I could feel my fur start to stand on end. There was nothing that I wanted to do more than to smash my cane into the side of the maniac's skull…but I knew I couldn't. He was the only one who knew where Ramona was and what year she was in.

"I'll be honest," he continued his openly mocking monologue as he casually strolled the floors of the hangar, "I don't normally go after the feisty ones, but if I didn't have to cut her out in a few hours, I'd go after her." He gave a wide, almost insane smile as we continued to follow each other in the room.

"Are you kidding me?" I spat out at the male after he made his comment, "She wouldn't end up with you if you were the last living thing on the planet." I could tell that had struck a small cord with him briefly. He smile disappeared quickly and his nostrils flared, showing his temper problem.

"Right, because she'd go for _you_. Do you honestly think that you have the slightest chance with her anymore? You've know her since you were like what…eight. That's twenty years to make a move on one woman Cooper, one woman, but you've gotten nowhere. Hell, you haven't made it past first base with her! I've know her for a fraction of the time you have and I've already made second! Not necessarily by her choice…but like I told you earlier, her curves can do strange things to a man," he smirked again, trying to get my temper to rise again, "Is it not obvious that she's just not that into you? She'd be more interested in an adventurous man…someone like me." he had another smug look on his face and I shook my head slowly…trying to resist the urge to knock his block off.

"Yes," I said sarcastically, "because all women go after men who try to kill them." With that, the jackal stopped and laughed. Not a chuckled or a dry laugh, but a legitimate, hearty laugh.

"You've been tracking me for four days and you still think _I'm_ trying to kill _her_? You really are an idiot aren't you? Well you know what…I'll humor you and help you solve my little riddle." I spun my cane in my paw, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Now, actually use your brain here, Cooper," I growled silently but let him continue, "What's something that sticks out as soon as you look at their history. Oh yeah…they're all killed! Now that's not the answer but it's obvious if you'd think Cooper! And I know, Ramona's not dead, but let's see how to fix this problem…take out mommy and daddy before they start having children and look, no baby Bandicoot's running around the place. Now let me help you with the riddle. What do all the Bandicoot's have in common? Here's a hint…each one of them had it on the entire time you saw them! Ramona has it everyday! Why do you think I went looking through a _jewelry_ store, Cooper? If you can't figure it out from here…then you're a bigger idiot than I thought." It made sense. It all made sense now.

"You've been hunting her necklace, not Ramona herself." He gave another smile and nodded slowly.

"There you go! But that little runt's hidden it from me. So either she tells me where it is…or I make sure that this time…she actually sees daddy's termination."

"And that's the other part, you're going back in time to before she was born to kill her parents to prevent her from ever existing. That way, all the work she's ever done won't be an issue to you."

"Not just her, her entire family. Bandicoot's have been plaguing our work since day one. But thanks to my boss' time machine, I can go back and fix all that."

"So you're the reason why all of her ancestors have died, you've gone back and made sure of that!" he nodded and laughed again.

"Nefertiti went missing…shoved that little snob out in the desert. Katherine…slipped a little arsenic in her morning tea and she was dead by nightfall. Sampada and Kasumi were easy to get rid of," he held a finger to his throat and slid it across, "If you handcuff Pedro and Carmen to a sinking ship then there goes that issue and May Ella…all you have to do is give her a well placed pulled right between her eyes. Elizabeth, made sure she was trampled in the street by a horse and carriage. Then, have little Miss Amelia have a bit of faulty engine work. Now, for the ones you haven't met. Chloe Bandicoot, Ramona's aunt, just take her out with Chel Fox, Ramona's mother, the same way her father was…and you've got yourself an extinct family line. No Ramona, Carmelita, Sitka…any of them to stop or pester us."

"And that's why you're here, to tamper with Amelia's plane to be sure she crashes." He nodded again.

"I got here a while ago, Cooper…already 'fixed' her engine for her. But guess who just sent her in the air on his little recon job looking for Tater Tot!" I quick pang of guilt soared through my body when I realized he was right; the second Amelia tried to land her plane she'd crash.

"So what do you need the necklace for? How could that possibly help you in your little 'adventure'?"

"You see, that gemstone is the key to my success. Ramona, the oblivious female that she is, never realized that the key to bringing down her enemy was around her neck the entire time. That one gemstone, passed down for generations of Bandicoot's, holds enough energy to sustain my machine for decades, giving them both unlimited power…and unstoppable power. If I have that necklace I control anything and everything I want; including the life and lineage of a stupid, thieving, low-down scum of a half-breed."

I had to stop him now before he managed to get back to him time machine and race off to kill off the rest of Ramona's family. This needed to end now. My paw grasped the handle of my cane tightly as I thought out my moves. As he was explaining things, the jackal had inched himself forward, giving me the opportune moment to strike. I waited until he was standing up fully before lunging forward, crashing my cane into his rib cage. Spencer howled in pain before letting out a snarl and setting his sights on me. Lunging forward, he got ready to sink his teeth into my jugular. I held up my cane to my neck, protecting it from his teeth. Unfortunately, it gave him the upper hand as he was able to sneak around me and press the cane into my throat, holding me still.

"I'm going to make sure that little runt of yours sees her fathers' brains get splattered all over the walls again," he pressed my cane into my throat deeper, restricting my breathing, "Then I'll make sure you're there to watch her turn to dust. But I won't leave you with nothing to remember her by though," he lowered his snout next to my ear and growled out the rest of his reply, "I'll be sure to send you what's left of the sand as a going away present." He moved my cane from my throat and sent me forward with a swift kick to the back with his boot. After I hit the nearby wall, my cane was tossed in my direction. I was briefly dazed, unable to get up on my feet quick enough to stop him. I watched as Spencer made his way to the blimp Otto had been working on, only to remove the tattered cloth to bring his time machine out of its hiding spot.

"Bon voyage, Cooper!" the jackal shouted as he punched in a number in his time machine. He waved with another sadistic grin on his face as he was sucked through a time hole, sending him to his final destination.

_And I know I bumped the rating on this just a smidge…but to be safe._


	17. Chapter 17:The Empty Hourglass

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Chapter 17! Yes, I'm done with the ancestors…for now at least. ;) Anyway, please read, review, and let me know what you think, thanks!_

Chapter 17: The Empty Hourglass

Paris, France, 1984

I perched myself on the roof of a building in the middle of town, using my binoccucom to scan the area, searching for Spencer and his base of operations. He had gone to the mid eighties…two years before Ramona or any of her siblings were born. I knew that if we didn't get Ramona out of here and stop Spencer today…then Ramona would no longer exist. He was plotting to kill Ramona's parents early, which would keep her from being born to begin with. Bentley had done the math with the hourglass and we had just over and hour to stop him or it would be too late. I scanned the area slowly, looking for anything that would lead me to the jackal and Ramona. I could only assume that he had already taken Ramona's mother and father and had them somewhere in his base, waiting for the right time to kill them. I put away my binoccucom, deciding to move to a different location to see if I could find anything. I was crunched for time and I couldn't spend too long in one spot or I'd lose Ramona.

"Sly," Bentley's nasally voice cracked in my earpiece, "I'm picking up a strong magnetic field a few blocks from your position. I'm thinking it might be Spencer's time machine!"

"Good. Just tell me where it is Bentley, I need anything to go on." I stopped in the street briefly, listening for the directions.

"Head north a few blocks and you should come up to an old warehouse…that's where the reading is the strongest." I nodded to myself before darting in the direction of the warehouse.

"Thanks, Bentley. Can you tell if there's an opening on the roof? I'd prefer not going through the front door." I heard clicking from Bentley's keyboard as I ran, waiting for an answer.

"There appears to be an old airshaft leading to the main room of the warehouse, you should be able to get in through there. But be careful! If you're caught there's no telling what will happen."

"Don't worry, Bentley, I'll be careful…I just hope we're not too late." I sprinted down the street, seeing the warehouse in my sights as I went around to the back, searching for a way to enter through the roof.

"We'll get her back Sly, I promise." I smiled to myself as I scaled the side of the building, eventually reaching the room.

I quietly removed the cover to the dead air conditioner, crawling through the small air duct, waiting to make it to the inside of the warehouse. The inside of the air vent was cramped and filled with cobwebs, but I needed to get through it in order to get to Ramona. After a few minutes of crawling, I made my way to the end. Thankfully, the bolts holding the grate to the end had fallen out, leaving the end completely open. To make things even better, I could see the inside of Spencer's operation from my spot. The time machine sat in the middle of the room, the machine itself giving off a quiet hum. A large screen was mounted to the wall to my right. The screen had been split into eight smaller screens, each screen showing one of the ancestors we had visited. They weren't dead yet, so I could only assume that once the sand had run out of the hourglass then that's when they would all perish. I felt my adrenaline start to rush when I noticed that Ramona had been bound to a chair that was seated in front of the screen. Ramona, who was restrained with her paws arms and legs to the chair with ropes and a chair wrapped around her waist, faced the time machine with a scowl on her face. I noticed a cloth was wrapped loosely around her neck, which could be used as a makeshift gag if needed. Leaning on a piece of machinery in front of her was Spencer, a smug look on his face as he watched Ramona, loading the pistol in his grasp slowly. Spencer started talking to Ramona and thanks to my years of training as a thief, I could listen in with ease.

"Why don't you put a smile on that pretty face of yours, Ramona? You'd make me a happy man." Ramona growled at the jackal, bucking against her restraints, keeping silent, "You know, it's a shame that I have to get rid of you, we could have a lot of fun together. I could let you come back to my place, I could show you how much 'fun' I can have." He chuckled at the frustrated raccoon.

"I'd rather jump off the top of the EiffelTower than go anywhere with you." He stood up, walking up to the female and placed the end of the gun to the base of her jaw. The chamber had at least one bullet the gun as he spoke, and he brought his face close to hers.

"Cooper said you'd say that," he scratched at the fur underneath her chin with his fingertips, which only caused Ramona to snatch her head away. Unhappy with her actions, Spencer grabbed her jaw firmly, making her look at him, before slowly running the barrel of the gun up and down her neck as he spoke.

"Why don't you stop being so stubborn and start being a good girl?" a low growl came from Ramona and Spencer chuckled in her face. He cocked his head to the side, leaning in to kiss her, but thankfully she saw what he was doing. He came within centimeters of her lips before she sucked inwardly and spat directly in his face. I heard him growl at Ramona before wiping his face clean. He yanked the cloth back into her mouth to keep her from spitting at him again. He gripped her chin firmly again and stuck his face in hers, growling a response as he did.

"I'll be back in a few minutes and either you tell me where you hid that necklace, or your going to have to deal with me," he paused briefly before sealing the gap between them, shoving his tongue in her mouth, past the gag, as he kissed her roughly, showing his dominance. Ramona squealed behind his lips, squirmed as best as she could and tried to break away from the jackal, but to no avail, "Understand me?" he growled after pulling away from her. Spencer roughly flicked her face from his paw as he turned and walked towards the other side of the warehouse. This was my time to get her out of here. I leapt from my perch and touched the ground softly and silently made my way over to the restrained raccoon, who was attempting to look at the screen behind in. I crouched to her level and touched her cheek gently. She jumped at first, fearing the jackal had return to only sexually abuse her more, but after realizing it was me, her eyes went wide and she said my name with a muffled voice, given the fact that the gag was still firmly in place. I placed a finger to my lips, signaling for her to keep her voice down. She nodded silently and I pulled the gag from her mouth.

"Sly!" she exclaimed softly, "You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" she squirmed against her restraints, ready to break free.

"After what I just saw, I'm sure you'd be glad to see anyone besides him. Please tell me that's as bad as he's been." She shook her head and continued to fight against her ropes and chains.

"Are you kidding? I've been gawked at, groped, kissed, and touched inappropriately enough to last me a lifetime just in the past hour." I sighed, placing my paws on the sides of her face and looking in her eyes.

"I'm going to get you out of here…then I'm going to go kill a jackal." I kissed her forehead quickly before ducking behind her chair, starting to untie to knots in the ropes that restrained her paws together. She moved her paws as I tried to untie her, trying to help me loosen the knots. Unfortunately, they were too tight and I couldn't get them undone.

"Sly," Ramona called out cautiously, "Sly, he's got my parents and a gun." I looked up and she was right, Spencer had returned, but had two adults in his grasp…a male raccoon and a female fox…Ramona's parents.

"I was hoping you'd show up, Cooper. I figured that giving you a chance to say sayonara to Tater Tot before I finish my job." He tossed the two adults to the ground, both knocked out cold with their paws tied to each other.

"Do you realize how insane this plot it? Killing off an entire family line just to keep your life simple?" Spencer shook his head, taking his gun from his pocket.

"Keep my life simple? Please, these vermin have caused me nothing but trouble since I started. And now…I'm taking care of the vermin." Crackling in my ear broke me away from my conversation.

"This isn't a good time, Bentley." I hissed into my earpiece.

"No! Sly! You're out of time! There's no more sand pouring! It's too late! You've got to get out of there!" I glanced to Ramona and then to Spencer, who had backed up and was ready to fire.

"Looks like you're out of time, Cooper. You'd better say goodbye to your little half-breed over there." Realizing that I couldn't stop him from shooting, I could stop Ramona from seeing her father killed in front of her…again.

I ran to Ramona, clamping my paws over her eyes and ears, trying to keep her from seeing the carnage. Eight shots rang out inside the empty warehouse, leaving nothing but an eerie silence in the room. I glanced to Ramona after uncovering her eyes and ears, trying to see if the affects of killing her parents had started taking affect yet. She seemed fine, except for the tears streaming down her face and her temper starting to rise. The raccoon was still tightly restrained in her chair, but was angry enough at her jackal to stand up a little and start screaming at him. She knocked me back a little when she bolted up, letting any pent up anger flood out onto Spencer.

"I'm going to kill you myself when I get out of here! Do you realize how much trouble you've caused me since I was a kid? I don't care if I'm thrown in prison until I die, but I will find you and I will kill you." Spencer simply chuckled at Ramona and replaced the gun in his pocket.

"As nice as that sounds," he reached forward to grab Ramona's chin again, only to have my yank it away with the hook of my cane. He chuckled again and continued, "I think you're a little late for that," he turned heading towards the screen behind Ramona, "And I think it's a little late for the rest of your ancestors as well." Ramona and I looked at the screen as well, seeing the rest of the maniac's plan unfold before us. He had lefts workers of his own in ear time period to complete the tasks of killing of off Ramona's ancestors.

"Sly! Sly!" Bentley's voice crackled in my ear again as he found my ear piece frequency, "You've got to get out of there! With Ramona getting ready to disappear, our entire futures will change! We have to get back to Paris before they do! You never know what could happen! The time machine may not even exist with the future! And if we don't have the time machine, we may not get home! We have to leave _now_, Sly!"

"I'm not leaving without her, Bentley!" we had come so far and I wasn't about to leave her here with that sexual predator of a jackal.

"He's right, Sly, you've got to get out of here." Briefly forgetting Ramona had an ear piece of her own, I turned to her, realizing she had seated her chair back down, and it was obvious that she was quickly loosing energy. I knelt in front of her, grabbing the sides of her face and brought her head up to keep it from drooping anymore than it already had.

"I'm not leaving you here, Ramona. I'm getting you out of this and we're taking you home." She shook her head and sucked in a breath, trying to save enough energy for a few more minutes.

"It's too late! You have to go, Sly!" tears filled her eyes as she spoke, realizing she was out of time, "Just promise me one thing," I nodded, using my thumbs to stroke the side of her face as she spoke, "Don't let him get my necklace."

"Where is it?" I wasn't about to let Spencer get his hands on that necklace, I just had to figure out where it was. She mumbled something, but her voice had become harder to understand. I leaned forward, asking her to repeat her statement. She mumbled again, her head staring to get heavy in my grasp and I knew she was almost out of time. Still unable to understand what the woman said, I leaned closer, hoping she had enough energy left to speak again. She sighed, not able to repeat her statement. Instead, she lurched forward slightly, catching my lips with her own one last time. I kissed her back, knowing that this would be the last time I would. It was only a few moments after our lips had touched that her muscles relaxed for the final time and her head fell from my lips, drooping down along with the rest of her body, showing that the life had left her small form. I sighed, realizing that it was all over and that all of our work hadn't paid off. I kissed the top of her drooped head softly, saying a final goodbye, and slid my paws from her cheeks, lowering her head slowly until her head stopped moving.

I looked over Ramona briefly, seeing that she truly was gone. Her limbs were limp, her eyes had closed, her breathing had stopped, and there was no pulse in her veins. I brushed against her face again, feeling something strange about her skin. I looked at my fingertips and noticed a grainy substance that had come from her skin…sand. I glanced to her again, noticing that as pieces fell from her shoulder, they fell off to the floor…in piles of sand. Now what the jackal had told both Ramona when he gave her the riddle, the sands of time, and the comment about sand he had told me yesterday, made sense. If Ramona didn't exist anymore, then she couldn't have a body to have to begin with. So, it was turning into sand and blowing away. I sighed again, knowing that there was nothing that I could do besides just watch her disappear. I felt myself go on the defensive when something grabbed my by the waist, yanking me up. I was ready to hit whoever it was, thinking it was the jackal, but relaxed after realizing it was only Murray.

"Sorry Sly, but we need to go." My friend was large enough so that his hand could wrap almost wrap completely around my waist. Struggling to break loose was almost futile, considering he could easily drag me back to the van, against my will or not. I had no other choice but to watch as Ramona faded away as Murray rushed back to the van with me in his grasp. By the time Murray had tossed me into the van, started the vehicle, and Bentley had punched in our time period into the time machine, Ramona had already disintegrated into sand and blown away.


	18. Chapter 18: An Empty Feeling

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Chapter 18! And yes…it will have fluff. X3 But hopefully I can post chapter 19 soon…and chapter 19 means one thing…time for a new OC. But other than that…please read and review and let me know what you think! Thanks! _

Chapter 18: An Empty Feeling

Paris: Present day

I scratched at my face as Bentley slid a file folder underneath my door. I sat on the edge of my bed, waiting for Bentley's wheelchair to roll away from my door before I stood and retrieved the file. He figured that since we needed to figure out what the jackal was up to since Ramona's…disappearance…then we needed to do our research on him before we made our move to both bring him down and get Ramona back. I was all for that, but right now I was too depressed to really focus on Spencer and whatever he was planning. It had been three days since we lost Ramona and I wasn't in the mood to do anything and I hadn't since I first shut myself in my room three days ago. Despite Bentley urging me to get out of my room, eat something, get some sleep, or just talk to someone, I refused and kept myself in my room until I felt like I had coped with this ordeal. I felt absolutely horrible about how all of this had ended and I knew it was my fault. If I had just thought and figured out that stupid riddle then I could have prevented all of this from happening. Ramona would still be here and things would just be like they normally were.

I sighed, standing up to retrieve the file that had been slipped underneath my door. I picked the fold up off the floor and trotted back over to my bed, flopping down in the middle of the mattress. Papers fluttered out and fell everywhere in the middle of my bed. I picked up the scraps, glancing over the information that Bentley had found out about Spencer. According to the information, he was a tyrant. Because Ramona was never born, then all the work she and her siblings had done to put a stop to both Spencer and his bosses had never happened. All of their plans had gone through, giving them complete control of where they resided. They dominated the entire continent of Australia, turning the rule into a dictatorship. Bentley had been able to find inside plans and from what he had found and given to me, they were looking to expand their empire. Since they already had Australia in their grasp, they had a guaranteed base of operations. They had planned on taking the islands in south east Asia, then work their way up through the entire eastern hemisphere, eventually, trying to became 'supreme ruler', which was a little clichéd if you asked me, but then again…my entire life seemed to be clichéd.

According to what Bentley had found out, Spencer still hadn't found Ramona's necklace, which would allow him to complete his domination plans. If _we_ could figure out where Ramona had hidden her necklace before they did, we would have the upper hand and could bring them down. And hopefully if we brought them we could get Ramona back and fix this entire mess. The only trick was…figure out where she put the stupid thing and in what time period. I shut the folder, tossing it to the foot of the bed before my mind started wandering again. It felt strange knowing that Ramona was here anymore. Until we figured out a way to bring her back, it would feel right doing a job without seeing her on a job or darting around the city in her happy-go-lucky fashion. We might have been rivals when it came to trying to steal something before the other did, but that's what made stealing things around here fun. Without a rival, stealing was just too easy; and really easy now that Inspector Fox wasn't here as well.

I couldn't help but smile when thinking about the raccoon. There were countless times where we had run into each other on a job and ended up out stealing the other. She was an excellent thief who gave me a run for my money. Sure, Bentley wasn't too fond of the fact she constantly stole what I was going to get, but I always considered it to be worth it. Even if I didn't get out with the item I had in mind, it was a chance to either pester or flirt with Ramona; which was a win-win not matter how you looked at it. Usually, if she was determined on getting an object, she'd use her looks to get it. Normally by distracting me just enough to get what she wanted; a flick of the tail, a wink over the shoulder, or a sway of the hips would normally do it. Sure, we didn't have a technical relationship…but there was _something_ there. I wasn't completely sure how she felt, but I knew how I did; and I loved her…a lot. But now that she was gone, I had an empty feeling that she once filled. I know it sounded clichéd, sappy, and fluffy…but it was the truth. Without Ramona fluttering around the city trying to steal something out from under me, it just wasn't fun and I frankly didn't feel like going out when I knew there wasn't any decent competition or a half decent police officer to hunt me down.

My smile faded when I noticed a mug shot of Spencer in the folder. The last person I really wanted to see was his smug face, but I needed to read the information Bentley had pulled up on him. Before all of this had happened, he'd been arrested on petty theft charges, identity theft, and vehicle theft, but nothing too major. Now that he was an iron fisted dictator, the severity of his crimes had risen. He was Interpol's number one criminal and was virtually unstoppable. With his power, he had enough workers working for him to keep Interpol, or any other major police force, away from him. The man was an iron-fisted tyrant who showed no mercy and allowed no one in or out of the country. Since he had successfully prevented Ramona from existing, he had been moved up in the ranks, making him someone we had to take out. Even if he wasn't mandatory that we took him down…I was going to even if it killed me; this time, it was personal.

I shut the folder and tossed it to the foot of my bed, deciding to finish looking at the contents later. I yawned, in desperate need of sleep, but every time I stretched out to get a few minutes of sleep, I couldn't do it. I kept thinking about Ramona and it would just make me feel worse about the situation. Even if only three days had passed since she left, I missed her terribly. I missed seeing her face, her smile, her laugh and accent. That was one thing that made her unique…her accent. Now, I know that Australian accents are relatively common, but she was the only one in her family who still retained it and she was the only one I knew who had an authentic Australian accent. Her eye color, well, colors, was another thing that made the woman different than the people around her. She didn't have one eye color, Ramona had two; blue and green. As much as I hated to admit it, Spencer was right about one thing…Ramona was a _very_ attractive woman. Her curves _could_ turn any man's head and have them gawk at her; which is where my jealousy sometimes caused a wedge between us. I'll admit, I didn't always try to make a move for her, and when I didn't, she'd go looking for another man that could satisfy her romantic needs. This of course, didn't sit well with me and I'd always try to figure out a way to break Ramona and the other man up…even if it wasn't the smartest idea. Then she'd always accuse me of stepping in on her relationships and if I wanted to make a move then to just go ahead and go for it.

I know that I should have gone ahead and made my move for her, but I was always reluctant and always chickened out before I asked her. Now I wished I had, so that I knew what it would be like to have _that_ kind of relationship with her. I loved her and I was sure she loved me, so why I never went that far with her was beyond me. And of course since we never got to that stage of our 'relationship', we'd only kissed and had never gotten anywhere past that. Not that I was in that much of a hurry to get to that stage, but the fact that I had to listen to the jackal gloating that he'd gotten farther than that, against her will mind you, only made my blood boil. That fact that he would even drool over her, let alone grope and feel her, wasn't something that rested well with me. Nothing about him rested well with me once I thought about it. He was the only who kidnapped Ramona from the orphanage to begin with, sending her into her own personal Hell to begin with, he'd also recently killed her parents, and he was the reason why she wasn't here now. I hated that man and I would make him pay for taking Ramona away from me.

I stood from my bed, not wanting to think about loosing Ramona anymore, and reached for the door. My paw touched the doorknob and I sighed, knowing that as soon as I went out there I'd get a sympathy speech from both Bentley and Murray. Before I turned the knob, I realized I still had my leg pouch strapped securely in place. I let go of the knob and started removing the bag, it's not like I was going anywhere for a while. I eventually removed the bag and tossed it onto my bed. I tossed my head back and groaned when I realized I hadn't thrown it hard enough and the bag simply bounced off the edge of the bed, fell to the floor and dumped the contents onto the floor. I trudged over to the spilled back and stooped down, starting to pick up the fallen pieces. After opening the bag, I started shoving the contents back in, not really caring about order. After I'd tossed my binoccucom and a few files back into the bag, I noticed something different that had been shoved into my leg pouch, something that didn't belong. I picked up the shining object from the floor and held it in my paw, noticing the cobalt blue streaks shine against the light of the room. I held Ramona's family necklace in my paw, trying to figure out when she'd slipped it into my bag. I stood, still staring at the necklace as I headed for the door. Turning the knob, I left my room slowly, my eyes still glued to the necklace; the only piece of Ramona I had left.

Bentley and Murray, who had been talking quietly to themselves, grew silent as I entered the kitchen. It was the first time I'd exited my room since we returned to our time period and I figured they hadn't quite figured out how I was doing mentally. I stayed silent, tossing the necklace onto the table before making my way to the counter for a cup of coffee. Bentley automatically made his way to the necklace, picking it up and looking it over while I sat at the kitchen table, lazily sipping at my coffee.

"Where was this?" Bentley glanced to me and I looked back at him, swallowing the coffee I had before answering him.

"Inside my leg pouch," I said simply, "I don't know how she got it in there, but I found it." He removed his glasses briefly, glancing to the stone before sliding his glasses back on his face and turning towards me again.

"You know what this means, don't you?" Bentley sounded strangely excited given our current circumstances.

"Yeah, it's another symbol of why I should be depressed?" he shook his head and replaced the necklace to its place on the table.

"No!" he scoffed at my answer and continued, "It means that we can get Ramona back!" my ears perked instantly at Bentley's comment. Just the thought of being able to get her back made me want to run over to the turtle and a hug him, but I decided against it in the long run.

"How?" I asked simply, waiting for his answer with much anticipation.

"Well, they needed the necklace because it's a powerful stone, right?" I nodded, "Well, I've done my research on these stones and we can use it against them to bring them down. These gems can only be used in certain machines that are highly intricate. And because of their delicate nature, a fake or flawed gem can cause them to malfunction. So if we're able to fashion an identical stone, but make it a fake, then we can eliminate them as a problem before they killed her parents. We have the time machine but…" he trailed off, not wanting to complete his sentence.

"But what, Bentley? What's wrong with the time machine?" he twiddled his thumbs sheepishly, eventually answering.

"Before we were able to leave, the time machine was damaged by a faulty gunshot by the jackal. It's fixable…it's just going to take a while to fix."

"How long is 'a while'?" I was afraid of his answer, hoping it wouldn't be too long.

"Well," he fixed his glasses and started on one of his genius speeches, "the hyper cube that allows the time vortex to opens seems to have been ruptured-" I held up my paw to stop him, not wanting to get lost in a conversation about flux capacitors or machines.

"Time frame, Bentley, just a time frame." We chuckled briefly before he continued.

"I'd say about…three to four months…maybe five?" I nearly spewed my coffee across the table after hearing his response.

"Three to four _months_?" he nodded slowly, adjusting his glasses again.

"At the minimum, but it's the only plan we've got, Sly. And if you want Ramona back, we'll need to fix that time machine." I slumped in my chair, sighing as I did. We were so close to bringing her back…only to have it swiped away again.

"I don't understand," Murray's voice chimed in the conversation as he made his way to the table, sitting next to me with a confused look on his face.

"If that Spencer guy wanted her necklace…why did he give her the riddle? Why didn't he just take it from her in Egypt?"

"I guess he knew he was being watched by Sly," Bentley mentioned, "And if they were able to simply have her bring it to them after Sly left, they wouldn't need as much effort."

"Then how did that riddle relate to the necklace in the first place?" Murray continued and I was able to answer that. While I kept myself in my room, it had given me enough time to think about the curse and now I had figured it out.

"It was simple. A chain of events…the chain on the necklace. Linking each and every daughter…links in a chain. A never ending bond…the family ties. The answer you seek is close to your heart…that necklace was right there on her chest. It was a simple curse, but we read too much into it." I slumped in my chair again, still feeling depressed about not having Ramona around and now knowing how long it'll take for us to get her back.

"We'll get her back, Sly" Bentley chimed in as if he knew what I was thinking, "I promise."

_And now…new OC time. :P_


	19. Chapter 19: Little Miss Ellie C

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters, they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games  
**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Haha, new OC time! :D And I know this chapter is a little short…but I know I'm about to get really busy and won't have time to update for about a week or so, so I wanted to go ahead and post this chapter. And since I was away from my laptop when I finally had a chance to write this…the paragraph lengths may be…different. But anyway, I did want to go ahead and post this, so please read, review, and let me know what you think. Thanks!_

Chapter 19: Little Miss Ellie C.

Paris, France

I coughed deeply, swatting smoke from my face as I opened the hood of the can. Black smoke puffed out from the engine, signaling that something had gone horribly wrong. Six months had passed since Bentley had promised we would have Ramona back by, and we still hadn't retrieved the lost raccoon. We'd finally gotten the time machine working when we first started it up this morning. But after Bentley had punched in the date we needed to go to, the time machine malfunctioned, sent us to a different time period, and now the time machine wasn't working. I stepped away from the engine and made my way to the back of the van where Bentley was trying to figure out what time period we had landed in. I could tell that by the architecture that we were still in Paris and the snow on the ground told me what month it was, but I had no idea when we were. I leaned against the back doors of the van, peering in at the turtle as he typed away at his keyboard, trying to figure out our mystery. I was getting anxious…I wanted Ramona back, but until we fixed the time machine, then it was all be a distant hope.

"So, have you figured anything out yet?" I asked after watching Bentley work for a while. He turned to my briefly, fixed his glasses, and simply shook his head.  
"Sorry Sly, I can't seem to figure out what went wrong!" he threw his hands in the air for emphasis before continuing, "I checked everything, made sure it was working, but for some reason it broke down." I nodded, sighing in the process.  
"Well, have you figured out what time we're in?" he shrugged and teetered his hand, showing uncertainty.  
"Kind of…I don't have an exact date, but from what I can tell…we didn't go back in time, Sly, we went forward." I nodded, seeing what he was saying, and stayed silent. I'd admit, I wasn't too happy with the recent turn of events, but I could take my anger out on Bentley. He was trying as best as he could to figure out what had went wrong and how to get Ramona back, but I was just getting antsy. I hadn't seen her in six months…and I missed her…a lot.

"I know you miss her, Sly," Bentley's voice cut through my train of thought, "but we can't do anything until this time machine is fixed."  
"I know, Bentley," I gave a half smile to my friend, "I know."  
"Look, go out and explore the town a little, try getting your mind off things while Murray and I fix the time machine. We'll let you know when it's fixed." I nodded and took off from the van and into the city. Bentley was right, I needed to get my mind off of Ramona and figure out how to get her back, even though I desperately knew we had to. Like I had mentioned before, Ramona had been gone for over six months and I missed her greatly. Everyday I wished I could just see her again, even if it was only for a minute, I just wished I could see her. I wanted to talk to her, hear her thick Australia accent roll off her tongue as she spoke. I missed being able to run into her while on a job and make her flustered by a flirty comment or go through our normal, playful banter.

I sighed deeply as I strolled down the familiar streets of the city slowly, passing by stores and holiday shoppers. Given the amount of shoppers in the streets and the decorations lining every store front in the city, Christmas was definitely approaching. I could hear many sounds; sounds of people shopping, the crunching of snow, the honking of car horns…but one sound stuck out more than any other I could hear. And that was the sound of laughter from a small child.

I turned my head to one of the shops, where the laughter had come from, only to see a child, looking to be about four years old, jumping up and down happily just outside the door of the shop. I chuckled at the young girl, happy to see a cheerful scene instead of thinking about Ramona and depressing myself even more than I already was. As I watched the girl briefly, I started noticing something about her. I knew, just as well as everyone else, that raccoons had a tendency to look alike. Although there was something…different…about this small raccoon. The little girl had a wide smile on her face as she hopped up and down, full of energy and excitement. But, something about the raccoon made me question her. She was a cute child, but her features were something all too familiar with me. The jet black color of her hair, the way she had it pulled on top of her head into a small pony tail, the way her bangs hung in front of her face, the stripe design on her tail, and most importantly…her eye colors. The little girl was the spitting image of Ramona, right down to her smile, but the eye colors struck me as odd. Instead of having Ramona's unmistakable blue and green multicolored eyes, the child had one blue, just like Ramona, only the other one…was brown, not green. There was no doubt in my mind that Ramona was the mother of the child…but how could she? Ramona was gone.

Then I got to thinking…who was the father and where was Ramona now? In order to keep myself hidden from the passerby's on the street and to avoid being called a creep for paying attention to a child that I didn't know, I snuck up to the rooftops to get a better vantage point of the child. I pulled out my binoccucom, looking at the child again and knew she was the childish version of Ramona. I turned up the sound on my binoccucom so I could hear what the child was saying. She finally stopped jumping, but a wide smile was still plastered across her small snout, even though it was a little hard to se due to the hood of her thick coat resting on top of her head.  
"Come on, Daddy!" she exclaimed happily, "We have to wrap Mommy's Christmas present before Santa gets here!" I smiled again at the girl, finding her innocence to be adorable.  
"We will, just as soon as you stop running off, Ellie Cooper." the father of the child chuckled as he squeezed through the shop door, and the numerous people standing in the way, with a bag in her paw. When I realize who the father was…I almost dropped my binoccucom and slipped from my perch on the roof. The father of the child…was me. Obviously, I was older than my age now, but the man was me. I zoomed in in the child and the older version of me, curious to see if I could pick up a name of the child or conformation that Ramona was the mother or not. It felt strange watching myself do things, other than in front of a mirror or on film, especially now that I knew that I was a father…well…would become a father. I never envisioned myself actually having children, the though never crossed my mind. But I did know that Ramona's dream was to someday become a wife and mother herself. By this time, a good portion of the crowd had disappeared and only a few remained, including the older me and Ellie. I watched myself crouch down in front of the small raccoon, brushing her bangs from her tiny face and pull the hood back just a little.

"Sorry, Daddy." the Ellie mumbled before leaning forward and placing a small kiss on my nose. Both the real me and the older version smiled at the child's actions, finding her too cute to really be angry with. Her father chuckled in response and poked her nose gently before quickly tickling her sides. The child giggled again, giving her father a hug before allowing him to scoop her up in his arms and start to carry her down the street. I followed the raccoons from the rooftops, curious to see where they were heading. Hundreds of questions raced through my mind at this new discovery. Where was Ramona? Was she the mother of Ellie? Where did they live? And if Ramona was the mother…were we married? I followed silently, not wanted to give away my position and have to face a rather awkward situation…with myself.

It wasn't until I'd followed the older me and Ellie for about a block until I realized what direction we were going in and whose apartment complex we were heading for. Ramona's apartment complex was only about half a block away from our position and I was positive that's where they were heading. It was about this time when I noticed I put the child down and took her by her small paw as we continued the short walk to the inside of the apartment. I smiled at the way Ellie walked. It wasn't a normal stride, but a choppy and almost bouncy one; one that made her take three steps for every one I took. Despite her fast paced walk, she didn't seem to mind. The raccoon was full of energy and was quite excited. I stopped following them after they entered Ramona's complex and made my way to the roof of the building across the street. Although it may sound creepy…I knew how to see into Ramona's apartment. I visited her often, but when I just wanted to make sure she was still ok and well, I'd sneak across the street and peer in, just to be sure she was alright. Well…when she was here, that is.

It only took a few moments for me to get into position and pull out my binoccucom and find Ramona's apartment window. I watched briefly before noticing the inside door open into Ramona's apartment, with Ellie and the older men walk in, shutting the door behind them. Ellie shed her coat quickly before bolting off to her room, Ramona's spare bedroom, with the bag from the shop. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I watched as I removed my own coat, hanging it on the rack, before calling out down Ramona's hallway. I zoomed in closer, focusing the screen on my binoccucom before noticing a small, silver wedding band attached to my finger. I smiled to myself, silently hoping Ramona was the one who completed the set. I watched as I seated myself on the couch, grabbing the Thievius Raccoonus in the process, before settling down and opening the book. A few moments later, the woman appeared with two cups of coffee in her paws. She handed one to me and kept the other for herself before sitting on the couch next to me, curling up next to me in the process. My smile grew when I noticed that Ramona, who was sipping at her coffee, wore the matching wedding ring on her finger, proving to me that she was the mother of Ellie…and my wife.

I still was unable to hear anything, due to my distance from the conversation, but I watched as we chatted, smiles across her faces and the occasional pause to stop and simply give each other a small kiss. Ellie bounded from her room a while later, clad in her bedtime nightgown and a stuffed bunny in her grasp. She pulled herself up onto the couch, wedging herself between her parents. She took the bunny in her arms, snuggled next to Ramona, and spoke to me. The older me smiled at the child and turned my attention to my family's book, reading the contents aloud to the small child. She listened in fascination as Ramona softly stroked the child's hair and head. I simply watched from the perch, looking my future wife, child, and life…well, future if we could get Ramona back.

I watched for a good thirty minutes before Ramona gently tapped Ellie's father on the shoulder, pointed to the child once he stopped reading. Ellie had fallen asleep in her mother's lap, snoozing peacefully with her bunny wrapped in her arms. The two older raccoons smile, talking softly to each other while I closed the book. Ramona picked up the child softly, cradling Ellie against her shoulder as she picked up the stuffed animal with the other paw. She walked carefully as she carried her young daughter to her bedroom to sleep for the night. That's when I realized how late it was getting, and how cold, and that I should be getting back to Bentley, Murray, and the time machine. I watched for a few more minutes, however, once Ramona returned. I watched myself pull her into my lap and kiss her softly. And with that, I put my binoccucom away and left my perch, bolting down the streets for the van.

By the time I reached the van, the hood had been shut and the engine ran smoothly, showing that it had been fixed. Murray, who was in the driver's seat, motioning for me to join them inside. I did as I was told and climbed in quickly, desperately wanting the heater to thaw my semi frozen fur and skin. Bentley explained that they had gotten the time machine working again and that we could finally go back and stop Spencer from getting rid of Ramona. As Bentley punched in the time we needed, he caught me smiling to myself.  
"What's got you smiling, Sly?" to be honest…it was the first time I'd smiled since Ramona disappeared.  
"Nothing," I said as I turned to him, "nothing." I wasn't ready to explain what I had seen. Right now, I was focused on going back in time, stopping Spencer, getting Ramona back, and making my future with both her and Ellie a reality.

_I'll admit…I love Ellie. 3 Granted, I won't write anything with her for a while…but she is out there and will be used in future stores. ;) But for now…on to chapter 20!_


	20. Chapter 20: The Sands of Time

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well, here's chapter 20! This isn't the last chapter…but it's the next to last. ): Although this story is coming to an end, I have a Sir Galleth and a Tennessee Kid story to do after this…so more ancestors! :D Anyway, please read, review, and let me know what you think! Thanks!_

Chapter 20: The Sands of Time

Paris, France, 1984

I gritted my teeth together as I waited for the upcoming events of tonight unfold before me. My tail flicked angrily behind me as I kept my distance from operations base below me, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. I was agitated, ready to beat the living snot out of Spencer for what he'd done. We'd finally gotten the time machine working and we were in the correct time period to get Ramona back. In the six months it took to fix the time machine, I'd been planning on how to get Ramona back and how to make Spencer pay for making her disappear and taking her away from me. Bentley, Murray, and I had created a plan that was guaranteed to get Ramona back. All we had to do was put it into action. We had gone back a few hours before Spencer had taken Ramona from Victorian England so we would have the upper hand in the ordeal. I was waiting in the rafters of the old warehouse where Spencer had taken Ramona. We had a plan to trick Spencer into both giving us Ramona and destroying his own time machine. Bentley had fashioned a phony necklace that resembled Ramona's. If we could trick Spencer into taking the fake necklace and using it to power his machines, according to Bentley at least, it would backfire and screw the entire thing up. I wasn't sure how that worked exactly, but apparently the sensitivity of the machines would break down if a fraud was used with it.

I waited for the better part of an hour before things finally started picking up again. I craned my neck to watched Spencer barge in through the door with an angry and fidgeting Ramona slung over his shoulder. He took large strides as he made his way to the center of the room where the chair that had been used to restrain Ramona earlier was resting. I could spot Ramona on his shoulder, unrestrained, other than being held down, kicking and punching at the jackal while shouting threats and curse words every other sentence. Of course, he wasn't threatened and was actually smiling at her actions. I felt my fur ruffle as he reached up and patted her rump a few times before chuckling at her reaction. His smiled faded quickly and snarled at her once she got her return hit; biting. He slammed her down in the chair and snarled again. She started to lunge forward at him, aiming for his face, before sitting back down quickly at his return action. He had pulled out his gun and stuck it underneath her chin, returning her to the seat. He jerked his head up briefly and she understood the command; placing her paws behind her back and around the middle part of the chair, she allowed herself to be restrained. He strolled behind her slowly, tracing the end of the gun up her jaw and up to her temple before keeping it aimed at the side of her head. He ducked down behind her and started tying her paws together behind the chair, keeping her restrained.

I wanted to jump down from my perch and punch him square in the face as soon as he walked in, but I couldn't. I had to wait for Bentley to give me the ok before I could make my move. I had to stay on a stakeout and keep an eye on Spencer while he did a little 'recruiting' of his own. So, until I got the word from Bentley, I could only sit and watch the jackal taunt Ramona. But I did get to see Ramona for the first time in six months…with the exception of yesterday. I'd missed her greatly and after seeing her with _our_ child yesterday, only made me want to get her back sooner. I wanted her back more than anything, but I had to wait for the right moment. I watched as he stayed knelt behind her and moved the gun back down to her jaw and placed his free paw on the nape of her neck, sticking his snout next to her ear. I couldn't hear what was being said, but he was taunting the female. Whispering things into her ear, chuckling as she gave him a disgusted face, and stroked her neck, getting too close to her chest for my comfort. He pulled the trigger on his gun, only to have it click; a sign that it was empty and out of bullets. She jumped at the click, fearing she'd just been shot, and he chuckled in her ear, teasing the female. He brought his paw down lower on her neck with a smile on his face, only to have it disappear quickly when he realized her necklace was gone. He whirled around and loomed over her, gripping her neck tightly and pushed her back, tipping her chair back.

"Where is it?" he shouted at the raccoon, his voice echoing through the silent warehouse. It was obvious that he was in desperate need of the necklace, and it seemed that he would fall for our trick with no problem.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ramona spat as he loosened his grip around her neck so she could speak.

"I need that necklace, Bandicoot. You know what I need and you _will_ give it to me." I couldn't watch this anymore. Whether I got Bentley's ok or not, I was confronting Spencer now and I was about to beat him into the ground and get my Ramona back.

"I'd rather have you kill me first." Ramona hissed out, bringing a growl into her throat. Spencer growled as well, bringing up his upper lip into a snarl.

"That can be arranged." He tightened his grip around her throat, restricting her breathing.

"Not on my watch." I spoke to the jackal, alerting both him and Ramona to my presence in the room. Spencer craned his neck to look behind him, his paw still gripping Ramona's throat. One of his wide, insane smiles curled across his lips and he released Ramona's throat, setting her back onto the floor before stepping away.

"Cooper!" he said happily, "You're early!" he glanced to his watched and chuckled, "Or should I say…you've come back?" he took his gun from his side and stood still, reloading it slowly while keeping an eye on me.

"Let her go, Carnahan," I growled, gripping my cane tightly, "this is between you and me now." He chuckled as he finished reloading his gun, putting it back in its holster.

"Is that so? Now why would I give up a pretty little Tater Tot like her? Unless you have something good to trade." He chuckled at his joke as he stepped away from Ramona.

"I do. I'll make you a deal." The jackal knitted his eyebrows together, not expecting my reply.

"What could you _possibly_ have to trade, Cooper? And it'd better be a high priced item for me to even consider it." I stayed silent, simply reaching into my leg pouch. Ramona's eyes widened, knowing what I was going for. I pulled out the fraud necklace and held it up high, showing it to Spencer. His eyes widened as well, knowing he wanted it.

"You give me Ramona, unharmed and alive," I shouted towards the jackal, "and I'll give you her necklace." He smiled nodding with approval.

"Alright, you've got yourself a deal, Cooper." He slipped into silence again, going behind Ramona, breaking her bonds. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, pulling her forward in front of me, keeping an eye on my every move, "I'll give you Tater Tot, safe and sound…then you toss me that little trinket." He motioned to the necklace with his head and I nodded in return. He released Ramona and she didn't have to be told twice to get away from him. She started walking towards me, not wanting to linger around him anymore. Ramona and I both growled at the jackal when he reached forward again, giving Ramona another slap on her rump before letting her leave. She snarled, ready to punch him in his smug face, but I grabbed her arm gently, bringing her back to me. She latched onto my chest tightly and I wrapped an arm around her waist even tighter…the first time I'd been able to do so in months. I finally had Ramona back and safe. Spencer turned, walking away from us, staring at the recent prize.

"Are you crazy?" Ramona hissed, "Do you know what he could do with that?" her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but I knew she wasn't too happy with my trade.

"Do you know what a fake one could do to his machines?" my voice was even softer than hers. I smiled at the raccoon as it clicked in her mind what I was talking about. Her grip on my shirt grew and a smile spread across her pretty face. Knowing Spencer was still in the room, I didn't kiss her, but I bumped my nose against hers gently, letting her know how I felt about her.

Her arms wrapped around my neck tightly in a hug. I smiled, finally feeling her figure in my grasp again, knowing that I had the woman I loved back and I wasn't going to let her go again. I hugged her back, wrapping my arms around her small frame as she gripped me tightly. I glanced back to Spencer to see where he was or what he was doing, when I realized something terrifying. Spencer had apparently figured out that the necklace was a fake and we were still in the room. In a split second, I noticed he had grabbed his fully loaded gun from its holster and pointed it towards us. I spun around, with Ramona still in my grasp, blocking her with my body. If he was going to shoot, he was going to shoot me…not her. I wasn't going to let him take her away again. My eyes shut tightly, waiting for a bullet to enter my body. But instead, a different type of shot rang out inside the warehouse…followed by a shout of pain from Spencer. Ramona and I both looked to Spencer, who was clutching his paw and his gun was about ten feet away on the floor. Someone had shot his gun from his paw before he could shoot us. I recognized the gunshot that had rang out…something I was all too familiar with; the sound of a shock pistol. We stood up fully, expecting to see Carmelita standing there with a gun in her grasp and a scowl on her face. But instead, it was a different Fox standing there.

"Mom?" Ramona knitted her eyebrows at her mothers' presence, turning to me…wondering how she knew they were there.

"Bentley decided to go on a little recruiting mission." She giggled, realized that there was no way he could stand up to her mother. Her mother was a ruthless cop and a rather cruel woman in her later years, but there was no way Spencer could take down Chel Fox, chief Inspector at Interpol for the time.

"You bring a woman to take me down, Cooper?" he chuckled, but it was obvious that he was uneasy.

"Nope," I shouted back at the jackal, "I brought another too!" he started backing up, getting away from the gun wielding fox before bumping into the chest of a taller male…Ramona's father.

"Daddy!" Ramona was always excited to see her father, granted…this had happened a total of twice, but she was a daddy's girl…and always will be. Charles Bandicoot grabbed Spencer by the scruff of his neck, keeping him in place, before glancing to Ramona, giving his daughter a wink.

"Get to the van," I told Ramona, wanting to keep her in a safe place, "this shouldn't take long." She smiled again, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before darting towards the door of the warehouse.

"Cooper!" Ramona's father shouted towards me, "You want to take the first shot?" he chuckled, holding the maniac in his place. When it came to one on one fighting…the jackal was a wimp. He tried squirming from his captor, whimpering as he failed to do so.

"I'd love to." Normally I wasn't one for just decking someone…but this guy had earned it. All the threats he'd given us, the sexual comments and abuse he'd given Ramona, and fact he'd taken her away from me…this guy definitely deserved it. I walked up to Spencer, stopping in front of him, watching him try to squirm away.

"This isn't a fair fight, Cooper!" he whimpered again as Ramona's father tightened his grip on his neck.

"You haven't been playing fair, Spencer," I taunted, "Now it's your turn." I reared my fist back, balling it up tightly before smirking to the jackal…ready to let him feel all the pain he'd cost me. I paused briefly, glancing to the coward, before letting go…allowing my fist to punch the insane man square in his face. I heard a crack, verifying to me that I had to have broken his jaw. I felt better, feeling that I'd gotten my anger out on him.

Ramona's father simply shook his head at the jackal, who was clutching his jaw where I'd punched him. The older Bandicoot simply tossed the jackal to the floor, allowing him to slide in front of his future wife. The Interpol officer placed a boot on his back, securing him in place as she slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. She responded herself my sliding him to the middle of his own time machine. Before Spencer had arrived here with Ramona, Bentley had preset the time machine to take the pitiful villain back to present day Paris, where he would meet the lovely Inspector Fox of my time period. He landed against the control panel with a thud, which kicked the machine on. The whirring of his time machine came on, signaling to us that our problems with Spencer were finally over.

"Bon voyage, Carnahan!" I shouted to the jackal, giving a two fingered salute to him, just like he'd done with me after taking Ramona for the first time. And with a brief opening of a time vortex, Spencer was gone, going back to present day Paris. Finally…this was all over. I turned to Ramona's parents, thanking them for their help before I started jogging back to the van so I could go home with Ramona and my friends.

"Cooper!" Chel's heavy Spanish accent caught my attention. I turned briefly, trying to see what they wanted. Ramona's father had wrapped his arm around the waist of his future wife and smiled.

"Take good care of our daughter." I smiled, happy to see that they accepted me pursuing their daughter. We said our goodbyes and with that…I left them in the warehouse.

I ran outside, expecting to see Ramona inside the van with Murray and Bentley, but instead…she was on the ground next to the warehouse. Bentley was next to her, trying to figure out what had come over the raccoon. He motioned me over quickly, not sure what was happening. I knelt in front of her, placing my paws on the sides of her face, afraid of what was happening to her. He limbs were weak and he eyes were hazed over…the same look she had the last time she disappeared. I shook my head, knowing what was about to happen. But I didn't understand why. Her parents were alive and Spencer had been shipped off to the present and was more than likely being arrested as we spoke.

"Ramona," I pleaded, running my thumbs across her face, "Ramona, please…don't do this to me again. Please, I _can't_ loose you again." tears welled up in her eyes, just as they did in mine, and her weak paw touched mine as her hot tears landed against my fingers.

"Ramona," I repeated her name again, realizing she was about to slip away again, "Ramona Bandicoot…I love you…I love you. Don't leave me…not again…don't leave me again." she gave a weak smile before her eyes shut and again, her body went limp. I didn't let her go though, by I held her in my arms. Wind started picking up, making it difficult to do something, anything, for her. I shut my eyes as the wing became harder. Turning my head away from the direct current of the wind, I could feel Ramona start turning to sand again…Ramona was disappearing for a second time. When I could no longer feel her in my grasp, that's when the wind stopped. I looked back down in my lap where I had been holding Ramona, realizing she was gone. I turned to Bentley, tears welling up in my eyes, when I knew that once again, Ramona had disappeared.

_Well…one more chapter to go and this story will finally be complete!_


	21. Chapter 21: For Every Cooper

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well, here's chapter 21, the final chapter! And yes…it will be full of fluff. ;) I would have posted this sooner, but this is a very long chapter…my longest yet…but it is the last one, so I figured I should be long. And for the record…if the first third of this sounds a little rushed…I apologize. I actually wrote that part last and was getting anxious to finish this chapter by the time I got there. But anyway, please read, review, and let me know what you think! And thanks for reading!_

Chapter 21: For Every Cooper

Paris, France, present day

I had just managed to get inside my room and slam the door shut before I lost it. I hadn't even made it to the bed before I just simply broke down. After slamming the door shut, I leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. Inside, I was a hot pot of feelings; not really knowing which one was the appropriate one to feel right now. I took off my hat, hurling it across the room, before pulling at my hair, digging my claws into my scalp. I knew I was mad; not only at Spencer for causing all this…but I was angry with myself for allowing him to take her away; not only once…but twice. I didn't have the slightest idea on how he took her away from me the second time. Her parents were alive at the time she disappeared, and Spencer had been shipped off to the present day to be arrested…she shouldn't have disappeared again. I exhaled deeply, running my paws through my hair and eventually running them over my face, letting my thoughts race through my mind as I resisted the urge to break down and cry. It was the second time I'd lost Ramona and there was no way we were getting her back now. There was just no feasible way to do it…she was gone permanently. I felt my stomach turn, twisting into knots the more I thought about it. I was nauseous, ready to just loose my lunch then just lock myself in my room until I was dead.

"Sly! Sly!" Bentley's nasally voice broke through my thoughts. I glared at the door, not really wanting to talk to anyone at the moment.

"I'm not in the mood, Bentley!" I realized I was sounding snappy towards my friend, not that I wanted to get aggressive towards either of them, but I didn't want to talk about it.

"Get out here, Sly! You're not going to solve anything by moping around!" I growled to myself, standing up quickly before yanking the door open.

"What is there to solve?" I asked as I made my way down the hallway and into the living room, "She's gone, Bentley! And it's not like we can go back _again_ to go get her. He'll know what we'd be there to do and we'll never get her back!" I realized I was raising my voice to my friends, but the pent up anger that I'd been holding in was coming out and I couldn't stop it until it was all gone.

"Sly, you don't understand-" I cut him off; not wanting to hear what he had to say.

"Bentley, _you_ don't understand. I love her and it _kills_ me knowing that I can't bring her back! Now unless you can tell me how we can magically go get her back without alerting Spencer, please let me know. But until then, just leave me alone." I left my friends in our hide out, just wanting to get away from people.

I stormed down the dark streets of the city, wanting to take my anger out on something. It was getting ready to rain, given the dark skies, and it was just getting late in general. I preferred to go out at night, but I was so upset that even if it was the middle of the day and I was captured by the police I wouldn't care. I guess that the thing that upset me the most about her second disappearance…was the fact that I didn't understand why she disappeared. I wanted to find out a way to figure out how to get her back, but I couldn't figure out how without Spencer finding out. Hopefully Bentley could figure something out, but I didn't want to discuss it now. I stopped moving and listing, swearing I could hear someone calling my name. I shook it off and kept walking, trying to get my mind off of Ramona. I walked down the streets, attempting to get her out of my mind, but failing miserably. I leaned against the bridge in the middle of the city, staring at my reflection in the water. I cocked my head to the side, swearing I could hear my name being called again. I ignored it a second time and kept staring into the water, feeling sorry for myself. It wasn't until I heard it a third time that I finally whipped around and finally shouted for the person to back off. I was ready to snap or punch the person in the face for a continued annoyance, I wasn't in the mood to be messed with, when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck tightly, almost pulling me to the ground.

"Ramona?" I asked, in complete disbelief when the mystery stalker pulled away from my neck. And it was Ramona, still hanging from my neck. She nodded, a wide smile on her face.

"Surprised?" she asked with a giggle and a jump in her step. I was almost speechless, seeing her here in the present day, in my arms.

"…How?" was the only thing I could mutter out of my mouth. She giggled again, stroking the side of my face, "You-you disappeared." She shook her head with another large smile.

"No, I didn't. You stopped Spencer, but I only left because I wasn't there to go back with you in the first place. It simply took me back to my time period so the time continuum could straighten itself out again," she kissed my check happily, "You broke the family curse, Sly." We smiled at each other, scooping each other up in our embrace, simply standing in the middle of Paris, lost in out our little world.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I hoisted myself up onto Ramona's balcony before sliding the glass door open quietly. I hadn't planned on staying, I just wanted to drop off her necklace then go home. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to stay, I wanted to stay more than anything, but I figured that since it was her first day back in over six months, I thought that I'd give her a night to relax before I started pestering her again. I shut the door quietly, trying not to alert her of my presence. She wasn't inside her living room or kitchen, telling me she was somewhere else in the apartment. My ears picked up on the sound of her hair dryer whirring in her bathroom, signaling to me that she has just gotten out of the shower. The steam from her shower started rolling out of the bathroom and into the living room, making the entire apartment warm…and a bit steamy. I stopped in the kitchen, figuring it was the best place to leave her necklace, other than just barging into her bedroom, which was connected to her bathroom. I cleared a spot on the table, pulled her necklace out of my leg pouch and placed it on the table. I reached into my leg pouch again to get out a calling card to leave her, when I heard the hair dryer suddenly turn off. Despite the possibility of her coming out at any time, considering I just wanted to slip in and out without her seeing me, I stayed calm. This wasn't the first time I'd snuck in while she was in the middle of a shower. She usually ran her hair dryer, and then stayed for another ten minutes or so afterward…more than likely getting dressed or doing whatever she wanted.

I took out the calling card and a pen, starting to write the resident of the apartment a note. I had gotten halfway through my note when I felt a soft paw slide up my back, causing me to jump and send a line through my calling card. I turned quickly, still startled by the sudden touch on my back. But I relaxed, smiling when my eyes landed on Ramona. She giggled at my reaction, a smile spreading across her face as well.

"A bit jumpy, are we?" she raised an eyebrow and kept her smile on her face. I chuckled as well as I turned to face her, leaning against her kitchen table, staring at the female.

"Only when I'm around you, Mademoiselle." She rolled her eyes playfully and giggled again, brushing her bangs from her face. She looked different tonight, or maybe it was just me, but there was just something about her that made her appear different…something that made her more attractive.

Normally, her jet black hair was straight, cascading down her black like a smooth waterfall. But since she just gotten out of the shower and hadn't straightened her hair yet, her hair had its natural curl to it, framing her face from her usual ponytail. Without fully realizing it, my eyes traveled down her body, taking in her curves and her figure. There was just something about her that was drawing me to her, making my eyes slowly trace her figure; learning the way her body curved and the how her curled hair held her face beautifully. Because she had just showered, she was dressed fully in her pajamas, which were a bit…sexier…than they normally were. Normally the raccoon was adorned in a baggy t-shirt and a pair of fuzzy pajama pants. But this time…she wore nothing more than a tight tank top and a pair a rather short shorts, reaching only to her mid thighs and showed a _good_ portion of her open fur and skin. I found my stomach start to knot up again as I continued to trace her body. Moving down from her shoulders, I stared at her slender arms, moving to her waist, her hips, down her thighs and finally to her slender legs. I hadn't fully realized how long I'd been staring at her until she snapped me from my own train of thought.

"Hey," she bumped her fingers underneath my chin, making my gaze return to her face, "eyes up here, Loverboy." Ramona pointed to her eyes, smirking as she did. She giggled again, showing that she wasn't too upset with my wandering eyes…and mind. I gave her a nervous smile, feeling my neck and face turn red in allowing myself to be caught staring. Her paw stroked my cheek softly before giggling again. She walked past me, her hips swaying in the process as her tail flicked back and forth, brushing past my nose and she walked by. My eyes followed her again as she walked to her living room, watching her hips dance in front of me, silently teasing me. Her head glanced back behind her, giving me a wink and an air kiss as she did.

I chuckled, realizing what she was doing…and it was working. Ramona could be a tease sometimes, which made her that much more attractive to me. I picked up her necklace from the table and followed her to the living room. She stopped in front of her sliding glass door, leaning against the side panel, looking outside at the rain that was starting to drizzle. I came up behind her, snaking my arms around her waist slowly, kissing her neck in the process. I felt her shiver as I kissed her, leaning into my embrace as she traced my paws with her own. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her shampoo and her perfume, realizing how much I had missed her. I took her necklace from my paw and brought it to her neck, placing it on her skin gently before clasping it behind her neck. She looked up, staring at me as best she could, given her position, and rested her head on my shoulder.

"I missed you," he whispered softly, biting her lip gently after she spoke.

"I did too," I whispered back, kissing her softly as I wrapped my paws around her waist again, feeling her stomach rise and fall with her breathing.

I parted from her lips, keeping my gaze on her. I could tell that there was some sort of tension starting to grow between us…and I could feel it was getting ready to burst. We hadn't seen each other in months; we hadn't talked or held each other in too long. We had missed each other in her absence and I knew that this growing feeling that we both had, was strong. She turned, facing me, and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her body to mine. My paws touched her waist, keeping her in place as hers slid down my neck and onto my chest. Her paws continued to slide down my chest slowly, her fingertips tracing the lines of my abdomen. I watched her quietly, smoothly running my own paws on her sides. I could hear the rain start to come down harder, pounding against the glass door in her living room. Her paws came back up my chest, as her arms wrapped around me. Her head rested softly underneath my chin as her fingers, which were touching my back, drew small circles in my shirt.

"The rain's getting worse," she said softly, "Are you planning on going back home?" her head shifted on my chest, her gaze locking onto mine.

"I'd planned on it," I said as I tucked her bangs behind her ears, "I actually hadn't planned on meeting you tonight. I was going to drop off your necklace and let you relax at home alone tonight…then come back tomorrow." She nodded slightly, keeping her gaze locked onto mine.

"…but I didn't want to spend the night alone." Her voice was sill soft and childlike, but her face was beyond serious. I chuckled before nudging her nose with my own.

"Is my lovely Mademoiselle asking me to spend the night?" I raised an eyebrow to her hint, still trying to figure out if she was seriously asking me to stay over. She didn't reply with an answer right away and it was obvious she could feel the tension as well. We parted just a little, still keeping our paws on each other, while staring each other down the entire time. My heart was pounding my chest, somewhat knowing what was coming. I'd missed her in her absence and I needed her…soon. I got the feeling she had the same internal battle going on inside her as well. We didn't move or say anything, just staring at each other and listening to the rain pound against the door. Despite our lack of movement and speech…I could feel the tension between us start coming to a head with danger of bursting at any moment. We licked at our lips, feeling the tension growing bigger. I could feel it in my stomach, rising up through my chest…making my heart pound harder.

"Sly," she breathed out, "stay with me…please." And with that, that inner dam in both of us had burst. In a split second in had her pressed tightly against the strip of wall next to her door glass door, our lips pressed against the others in a feverish lip lock. I caressed her hips securely, keeping her pressed against the wall as our mouths battled for dominance.

Her fingers traveled up the side of my face and to the top of my head. She pulled my hat from my head; the second time today it'd been hurled across a room, and yanked my earpiece from my ear, tossing it over my shoulder. I traveled up her body, letting my paws feel the softness of the fur on her stomach…and the goose bumps that followed soon afterwards. I felt her fingernails gently claw through my hair and into my scalp. A small yip escaped her throat as I moved from her lips to her cheek, kissing my way down to her neck. I smiled against her skin, feeling my skin tingle at the touch of her claws down my back. I pulled away from her, allowing us to regain our breath before continuing any further. Looking into her eyes, I wanted to know if she _really_ wanted to proceed. We said nothing, simply looking at each other and we were able to tell what the other was wondering. Ramona nodded, keeping her gaze on me the entire time. Her fingers stroked my face gently as she nodded again. Our breathing had slowed once again, but our minds were still hazed, given the recent tension going on between us. Our lips crashed against one another's again, the inner fire inside us growing quickly. Our eyes closed and our minds became fuzzier and fuzzier as the minute passed. One of her paws trailed away from me briefly before making its way towards the sliding glass door and the curtains that were pulled away from the door. She yanked them closed quickly; making sure that the curtains covered every bit of glass that showed before locking the lock on the handle with a soft click.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

I growled softly as I started to wake up, already knowing it was too early to even think about getting up. I rolled from my side and onto my back, reaching over the rest of the bed and to the beside side table behind me. I pulled my hastily discarded shirt from in front of the clock and rubbed at my eyes, attempting to get them to focus so I could see the time. I was right…it was too early to get it. With it being just past four in the morning, I desperately wanted to be sleeping again. I replaced my shirt, covering the illuminating lights of the digital clock, before rolling back over onto my side. I got ready to fall back asleep, when I realized…more like remembered…the sleeping form next to me. I smiled to myself, remembering the events of last night, and kissed her bare shoulder. Her back was pressed against my chest, allowing me to feel her torso rise and fall with her quiet breathing…and occasional snore. I softly pulled her hair from her face, allowing me to see if she was indeed still asleep. I gently placed my paw on her waist as she slept and remained silent, not wanting to disturb her. She shifted slightly with my touch, sighing contently as she did.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" I quietly asked the raccoon beside me. Ramona stayed silent, continuing to sleep, despite my question, "Good…because I need to talk to you for a minute." Ramona gave another soft snore and I chuckled again before starting my speech.

"Listen, I'm not particularly good at giving a genuine, intimate talk to a woman…in fact I've never done it before…but just go with here for a minute. I know that I have a bad habit of not taking things seriously with it comes to telling you what I know you want to hear. So, I figured that it might be better if I told you while you slept. And I know that you probably won't hear a word of this, and I'm just wasting my breath and may seem like a coward for being able to tell you while you're awake, but I need to get this off my chest and tell you how I feel." I looked at her peaceful features again, exhaling deeply before continuing, "Ramona, all my life, I've never had a real or serious relationship with a woman; it's always been a string of meaningless, loveless, one time flings. And because of that, I've never had to commit and actually have a chance of finding a decent woman or the one I would want to spend the rest of my life with. Then I met you. You've changed me Ramona but don't get me wrong, it's for the better. You've shown me that I don't need a series of relationships like the ones I've had…I just need one," I paused briefly, planting several soft kisses on her shoulder, "but I know that I've screwed up many times with you. I know I've hurt you in the past and I've done you wrong before. Now that I think about it…this probably isn't the best thing to say considering I've been waiting for years to get this far…but I need to admit my mistakes. And it's not just my mistakes that I feel bad about; I feel like I failed you." I tucked her bangs that had fallen to her face behind her ears, checking to see if she was still asleep. Thankfully, her eyes remained closed and her breathing was soft and quiet.

"I promised that I would keep you safe and keep you from letting that…'curse'…take affect on you, but I failed in that. I was supposed to keep you safe from anything that presented itself as a threat and I didn't live up to what I said I was going to do. I allowed Spencer to kidnap you, take you away, do who knows what to you, and then get rid of you and your parents like it was nothing. And I know we got you back, but it wasn't supposed to take so long. It wasn't supposed to take over six months to get you back from…wherever you went after Spencer killed your parents…and I swore that I wouldn't allow him to touch you ever again. I guess I failed at that too. Ramona, in that time away from you, I realized something. I realized just how much I would miss you. I realized how much I loved you and I knew that if I ever got _close_ to this point with you, then I knew that I wouldn't be able to let you go," I kissed her shoulder again, my lips lingering a bit as I thought, "I love you, Ramona Bandicoot, and I don't want to loose you again." she shifted again, turning onto her other side as she did, eventually settling down again.

"I love you, too, Sly Cooper." My ears perked at her voice, not realizing she'd been listening the entire time. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she kept her eyes closed, despite her comment.

"So how much did you hear, Mademoiselle?" she chuckled quietly before tucking a paw underneath her head for support.

"I heard enough," she mumbled as her eyes finally opened, her soft gaze meeting mine, "And you didn't fail me, Sly, so don't ever think that you did."

"I did," I knew I did, I allowed her to be put in harms way, "I let Spencer take you away and get rid of you like you were trash. Then to top it off it took too long to get you back." She silenced me quickly, placing one of her slender fingers over my lips.

"You didn't; you kept me from staying gone. I knew what Spencer was planning once I figured out who he was. Whether or not you could have prevented him from killing my parents then, he would have figured out a way to do it eventually. But you didn't fail because you were able to go back and stop him. Sure, it might have taken a little longer than expected…but you did come back." Her fingers brushed against my face gently and her eyes scanned my face, "And if I did think you failed," she continued with a smile, "then you," she pressed a finger to my nose, "wouldn't be here." She moved her finger from my nose and pressed it to the mattress. I chuckled, kissing the palm of her paw as it passed over my mouth.

"And I must say, Mademoiselle, I do enjoy waking up next to you." I winked, sending one of her giggles through the room and a slightly blush to show on her neck and cheeks.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she giggled again, leaning forward slightly to plant a kiss on my nose.

"I could certainly get used to it, too," I gripped her paw and continued, "that is of course if my lovely Mademoiselle permits it." She smiled and stretched, sending her paws over her head and eventually around my neck as she brought them down.

"I supposed that'd be alright, Mr. Cooper." I chuckled at the female, allowing my paws to return to her hips and curves.

"And how many times would I be allowed to spend the night?" nudged her nose with mine and waited for her answer.

"Hmmm," she hummed playfully, "I'd say at least once a week," she winked, "but I guess you could stay two nights…_if_ you behave." She winked and I chuckled, seeing what game she was playing and where I could take it.

"But Mademoiselle," I taunted her in an exaggerated French accent, something I knew she always crumbled to, "this is Paris; a city of lights, love…and temptation." She giggled, biting her lip and inhaling deeply before she spoke.

"Not the accent, Cooper," she playfully pleaded, "It's too early for me to kick your butt in _another_ round." My ears perked as she removed her paws from my neck and flipped back over, smirking as she did.

"Hey," I leaned over her, with my snout near her ear, "I won half of those, Mademoiselle," she turned over halfway, meeting my face with a smirk on her face and a playful twinkle in her eye.

"I know," her expression remained on her face, even as her voice lowered, "but I won three _and_ four." She giggled again before resting her head on her pillow. I rolled my eyes, smiling as I did, before leaning down again, planting another string of kissed on her neck and shoulder. She flipped over again quickly, capturing my lips in her own in another heated lip lock as our paws managed to snake around each other.

I'd seen first hand that our families were close. Slytankhmen had every feisty Nefertiti, Sir Galleth had the elegant, yet rebellious, Lady Katherine, and Salim had the sneaky Sampada. Rioichi had the calm and quiet Kasumi, Henriette had the Latin tongued, adventurous Pedro, and Tennessee Kid had the gun-slinging, rough, and tough May Ella. Thaddeus had the always proper but intellectual Elizabeth, Otto had the high flying, adventurous, risk taking Amelia, and even my father somewhat had Chloe, Ramona's aunt. But I have the best one of them all…Ramona. Sure, Ramona had the same qualities as her ancestors, but she was unique. There was just something about her that made her stand out from all the others. Despite the number of her ancestors that flirted with me, I still focused on Ramona; I loved _her_. Even though it was a chance accident, I'd see our futures. We were together, after everything we'd gone through in our lives, we had ended up together in the end. We had managed to get married, to show each other that we did truly love the other. I'd seen our child, _our_ beautiful daughter. After going through this entire ordeal, I realized something that all of our ancestors within our families had in common that has always be true…that for every Cooper, there was a Bandicoot.


End file.
